UCSB   LIBRARY 


lit  taw  OF 


THE  THEORY 

OF 

HUMAN    PROGRESSION 

AND 

NATURAL  PROBABILITY  OF  A  REIGN 
OF  JUSTICE 

BY 

PATRICK  EDWARD  DOVE 


EDITED  WITH  MEMOIR  BY 


ALEXANDER  HARVEY 


"  The  charm  that  exercises  the  most  powerful  influences  on  the  mind,  is 
derived  less  from  a  knowledge  of  that  which  j's,  than  from  a  perception  of  that 
which  will  be,  even  though  the  latter  be  nothing  more  than  a  new  condition  of 
a  known  existence." — HUMBOLDT'S  Cosmos. 


NEW  YORK 

The  Humboldt  Publishing  Company 
64  Fifth  Avenue 


COPYRIGHT,    1895, 

BY 

The  Humboldt  Publishing  Company. 


All  Rights  Reserved. 


CONTENTS. 


INTRODUCTION. 

PAGE 

Preliminary  explanation  of  the  nature  of  political  science 17 

CHAPTER  I. 

ON  THE  ELEMENTS   OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION. 

SECTION  I. — Remarks  on  the  Matters  involved  in  Political 
Science. — Liberty  and  property 29 

SECTION  II.— On  the  Mode  in  which  Men  have  made  laws. — 
Liberty  of  thought,  speech,  publication,  and  action — Restrictive 
laws — The  game  laws — The  excise  laws — Taxation  of  labor — 
Indirect  taxation — Customs  and  excise — Unlimited  legislation 
— Its  gradual  limitation — Legislation  for  thought — Sectarian 
legislation — Immutability  of  justice — Legislation  beyond  its 
province — Change  of  laws,  result — Freedom  of  expression — 
The  censorship — Despotic  power,  its  means— Combinations — 
Religious  liberty — Reaction  under  pressure — The  people  and 
the  rulers — Despotism  and  superstition — Change  of  conditions 
— Free  intercourse — Retrogression  of  Spain 34 

SECTION  III.. — The  Combination  of  Knowledge  and  Reason. — 
The  Bible — Causes — Demonology — Popish  miracles — Popery — 
Persecution  of  witches — Patriotism — Mercenaries — The  turn- 
ing-point of  modern  times — Inductive  reasonings  —  Mental 
philosophy — Ethics — revelation — Correct  credence — The  Bible 
— Natural  phenomena,  social  laws  —  Induction — Dogmatism 
and  scepticism — Philosophy — The  method  of  Bacon — Gradual 
circumscription  of  philosophy — Common  credence — primary 
knowledge — Science  and  Philosophy,  ontology — Criticism  of 
knowledge — Form  and  matter  of  knowledge — Evolution  of  free- 
dom— Condition  of  freedom — Credence 85 

3 


4  CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

SECTION  IV. — The  Use  and  Operation  of  the  Combination  of 
Knowledge  and  Reason. — Man's  moral  imperfection — Evils  of 
injustice  —  Political  association  —  The  progress  of  society 
— Use  of  combination — Change  of  credence — Negro  slavery 
— Emancipation  of  the  Negroes — Anti-slavery  combination 
— Predicted  evils — True  character  of  Negro  emancipation 
— The  tax  of  the  twenty  millions — The  corn  laws — Repeal 
of  the  corn  laws — The  slave  and  corn  laws— The  argument  of 
justice — The  argument  of  benefit — Moral  force — The  end  of  pro- 
gression— The  origin  of  progress — Means  of  progress — Proposi- 
tions on  the  operation  of  knowledge 104 

CHAPTER  II. 

ON   THE   THEORY   OF   MAN'S   INTELLECTUAL   PROGRESSION. 

SECTION  I. — The  Order  of  the  Sciences. — The  sciences — The  cate- 
gories— The  modes — Nature,  knowledge,  language — The  forms 
of  reasoning — The  growth  of  the  sciences — The  process  of 
science — Man-science — A  millennium — Order  of  the  sciences — 
Dependence  of  the  sciences — Evolution  of  the  sciences — The 
marks  of  a  science — Present  position  of  the  sciences 139 

SECTION  II. — Determination  of  the  Character,  Postion,  and 
Boundaries  of  Political  Science. — §  I.  General  observations — 
Political  science. — §  II.  The  province  and  position  of  political 
economy — Its  position — Its  object — The  welfare  of  man — 
Growth  of  economy — A  natural  system  of  political  economy — 
Laws  of  nature  deranged  by  man — The  ultimatum  of  political 
economy. — §  III.  The  province  and  position  of  politics  proper 
—Truth  progressive — Politics  proper,  its  position — Socialism 
and  communism — Character  of  political  relations — Justice  the 
foundation  of  political  society — Essential  character  of  politi- 
cal society — Posterior  limit  of  political  science — Position  of 
politics  proper 183 

CHAPTER  III. 

ON   THE   THEORT   OF   MAN'S   PRACTICAL   PROGRESSION. 

SECTION  I. — Outline  of  the  Argument,  that  there  is  a  natural 
probability  in  favor  of  the  Reign  of  Justice. — A  reign  of  justice, 
or  political  millennium — Order  of  knowledge — Correct  knowl- 
edge produces  correct  action — Correct  action  produces  the 


CONTENTS.  5 

PAGE 

beneficial  condition — Anticipation  of  a  political  millennium — 
Influence  of  Christianity — The  millennium  of  Scripture — The 
millennium  of  nature — The  revelation  through  nature — Natural 
truth,  divine 217 

SECTION  II. — The  Influence  of  Science  on  Man's  Terrestrial  Con- 
dition.— Sensation  and  reason — Reason  posits  power — Astro- 
nomy, geography,  navigation — Measurement  of  time — Applica- 
tion of  mathematics — Mechanics  and  locomotion — Machinery, 
chemistry,  and  electricity — The  soil  and  its  productions,  Tenure 
of  land,  Drainage — Improvement  of  domestic  animals — Em- 
pirical and  scientific  physiology — Extension  of  human  life 234 

SECTION  III. — Application  of  the  Theory  of  Progression  in  Man's 
Political  Condition. — Pauperism — Condition  of  Britain — Origin 
of  pauperism — The  radical  evil — The  two  parties — The  two 
questions,  liberty  and  property — Right  of  representation — 
Social  science — Method  of  science — Arbitrary  determination  of 
crime — AVhat  is  a  crime  ? — Crime  and  property — Property  in 
land — Major  and  minor  of  political  science — Law  measured  by 
justice — Supremacy  of  justice — Law  versus  legislation — Univer- 
sality of  justice — Definition  of  crime — Serfdom  and  aristocracy 
—Deterioration  of  man — Liberty  and  property — The  lord  and 
the  serf — Equality  in  the  eye  of  the  law,  and  in  the  scheme  of 
the  state — Perpetual  supremacy  of  justice — Disposition  of  the 
soil — Equality  in  the  eye  of  the  law  and  in  the  scheme  of  the 
state — Property  in  the  soil — The  feudal  system — Conversion 
of  arable  into  pasture — Enclosure  of  commons — The  politics  of 
landed  property — The  gradual  evolution  of  truth — A  theoretic 
ultimatum — The  classes  of  society — The  practical  man  and  the 
theorist — Final  propositions  on  the  end  of  progression 252 

CHAPTER  IV. 

BRIEF  OUTLINE  OF  A  HISTORICAL  SKETCH  BEING  AN  ATTEMPT 
TO  APPREHEND  THE  SENTIMENTS  OF  THE  HUMAN  MIND 
WHICH  HAVE  RULED  SOCIETY,  AND  TO  APPRECIATE  THE 
PSYCHOLOGICAL  DEVELOPMENT  OF  MAN  THROUGH  HISTORIC 
MANIFESTATIONS. 

Theories — The  papacy  and  the  feudal  system — War-feudalism — 
The  feudal  constitution  of  society — The  equitable  constitution 
of  society — Causes  of  war — The  trader — War  feudalism  and 
parchment  feudalism— The  trader  and  the  feudal  system— The 


6  CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

feudal  lords — War,  pleasure,  and  policy — Trade — The  period 
of  barbarous  war — The  period  of  knightly  war — The  period  of 
court  pleasures — The  period  of  court  policy — The  occupations 
of  the  ruling  classes — War,  pleasure,  and  policy — The  policy 
system — Political  economy — The  equity  system — Historic  sum- 
mary— Historic  development  of  man  in  the  State 330 

CONCLUSION. 

Ultimate  knowledge,  unity  of  credence — A  valid  natural  theology 
— Growth  of  theology — Substance,  infinity,  and  power — Design 
— Intelligence,  intelligent  design — Possibility  of  moral  theology 
— Gradual  evolution  of  a  genuine  natural  theology — Man's 
fallen  nature — Revelation — Theology,  strictly  scientific — Pres- 
ent position  of  natural  theology — Dependence  of  natural  theol- 
ogy on  natural  science — Ultimate  effects  of  scientific  knowl- 
edge— Christianity  the  main  cause  of  human  civilization — 
Truth  restored  to  man 364 

APPENDIX. 
On  the  Classification  of  the  Sciences 395 


THE  BOOK  AND  THE  AUTHOR. 


ABOUT  the  middle  of  the  present  century  there  lived  in 
that  beautiful  part  of  Scotland  known  as  Ayrshire  a  coun- 
try gentleman  whose  unusual,  not  to  say  extraordinary, 
traits  had  made  him  an  object  of  general  interest  to  his 
whole  county.  The  estate  of  this  gentleman  was  known 
as  "  The  Craig."  Its  squire  was  a  bachelor,  and  surely  no 
life  could  be  more  ideally  bucolic  than  his.  He  rode,  he 
shot,  he  hunted.  He  was  a  scholar  as  well  as  a  gentleman, 
and  his  library  of  some  thousands  of  volumes  was  stocked 
with  Greek  and  Latin,  French,  German  and  Italian  classics, 
not  to  mention  its  adequate  equipment  of  the  choicest  liter- 
ature of  his  own  Britain.  These  books  were  not  merely 
in  his  library.  They  had  been  read  by  their  possessor — 
a  tolerable  distinction  for  a  gentleman's  library  in  those 
days,  and  in  these,  too,  for  that  matter. 

But  the  scholarly  and  gentlemanly  traits  of  this  old- 
school  squire,  while  in  themselves  a  sufficient  distinction, 
had  not  won  for  him  his  peculiar  eminence.  Xor  did  he 
even  owe  it  to  the  fact  that  he  was  the  best  shot  in  his 
county  and  the  most  popular  landlord  in  Scotland. 

This  landlord  did  not  believe  in  landlords.  He  main- 
tained that  the  soil  of  a  nation  was  the  inheritance  of  all 
its  people.  He  was  never  weary  of  repeating  that  rent 
should  go  to  the  State  for  the  benefit  of  all. 

Another  institution  which  he  held  in  abhorrence  was  the 
game  law.  His  great  estate  had  not  a  keeper  in  all  the 
broad  extent  of  it,  and  no  poacher  was  ever  interfered 


8  THE  BOOK  AND  THE  AUTHOR. 

with  if  he  sought  a  rabbit  or  a  hare  within  its  boundaries. 
The  birds  of  the  air,  the  fish  of  the  sea,  the  beasts  of  the 
field,  contended  this  radical  squire,  were  the  property  of 
all  and  to  be  held  in  trust  for  the  benefit  of  all. 

Still  another  peculiarity  could  be  charged  against  this 
prince  of  eccentrics.  He  was  a  friend  of  Ireland.  Not- 
withstanding his  staunch  Protestantism,  his  associations 
and  his  social  position,  he  stood  up  stoutly  for  the  Irish 
peasantry  and  maintained  that  Britain's  treatment  of  these 
unhappy  people  was  fiendish  and  inglorious. 

Yet  he  was  not  querulous  or  a  bigot.  He  respected  all 
people's  opinions.  He  maintained  the  friendliest  relations 
with  rich  and  poor.  He  seemed  master  of  the  sweet  art 
of  loving  and  being  loved.  His  home  was  the  happiest 
in  all  Scotland,  and  his  character  was  as  spotless  as  his 
linen. 

The  name  of  this  gentleman  was  Patrick  Edward  Dove, 
and  he  wrote  the  book  herewith  presented  to  the  reader. 

Patrick  Edward  Dove  was  a  Scotchman.  lie  has  been 
dead  over  twenty  years,  and  singular  indeed  have  been 
the  circumstances  to  which  he  owes  his  undeserved  ob- 
scurity. He  was  born  at  Lasswade,  near  Edinburgh,  on 
July  31,  1815.  His  father  was  a  Lieutenant  Henry  Dove 
of  the  royal  navy,  and  his  mother  had  been  a  Miss 
Christiana  Paterson.  The  families  of  both  parents  had 
been  for  generations  rich  and  prominent.  The  Doves  had 
given  offices  of  high  rank  to  the  navy  of  their  kings  for 
hundreds  of  years.  An  ancestor,  too,  had  been  bishop  of 
Peterborough,  very  famous  in  his  day  as  any  one  may  see 
who  cares  to  look  up  William  Dove  in  the  biographical 
dictionaries.  Commodore  Francis  Dove  had  settled  the 
family  in  Devonshire  in  1716.  His  son  Henry  had 
materially  added  to  the  family  riches  before  the  birth  of 
our  Patrick  Edward. 

Dry  as  such  details  may  seem,  they  are  of  importance 
as  showing  that  the  future  radical  and  predecessor  of 


THE  BOOK  AND  THE  AUTHOR.  9 

Henry  George  in  single-tax  agitation,  owed  nothing  to 
heredity  and  environment  in  preaching  social  revolution. 
On  the  contrary,  his  birth,  his  fortune,  his  social  posi- 
tion would  seem  to  array  him  on  the  side  of  the  ruling 
classes. 

It  is  difficult  to  give  anything  like  a  connected  account 
of  Patrick  Edward  Dove's  life.  It  was  a  checkered  life, 
full  of  disappointment  and  sorrow,  despite  its  intervals 
of  peace,  and  that  is  one  reason  memorials  of  it  are  so 
scanty.  We  know  that  the  young  man  received  an  un- 
usually good  education  in  his  own  country  and  in  France. 
But  he  was  evidently  a  turbulent  youth,  indifferently  im- 
pressed by  authority  of  any  kind.  When  he  was  still  in 
his  teens  and  winning  honors  at  a  French  academy,  he 
revolted  against  the  tyranny  of  his  masters,  or  more  justly, 
against  what  he  deemed  tyranny.  Patrick  Edward's 
masters  have  not  given  their  side  of  it.  At  any  rate,  the 
lad  plotted  an  organized  rebellion  and  led  his  fellow- 
students  in  an  open  insurrection  against  the  tutors.  The 
incident  of  this  episode  was  as  exciting  as  those  any 
schoolboy's  author  could  improvise,  and  the  upshot  of  it 
all  was  the  expulsion  of  Patrick  Edward  in  disgrace. 

When  Patrick  Edward  reached  home,  he  announced 
his  intention  of  going  into  the  navy.  This  was  profiting 
by  the  example  of  his  ancestors,  but  his  father  opposed 
this  design  so  strenuously  that  it  was  abandoned.  It  was 
thought  wisest  to  make  a  gentleman  farmer  of  the  heir 
of  the  house  of  Dove,  and  the  young  man  did  go  up  to 
Scotland  to  learn  something  of  husbandry.  But  he  can 
scarcely  have  settled  down  to  such  a  career  with  any 
steadiness,  for  a  few  years  later  he  was  in  Spain,  travelling 
rather  luxuriously  and  enjoying  all  there  was  to  enjoy. 
From  Spain  he  went  to  Paris  and  after  a  lengthy  resi- 
dence of  some  years  there  he  turned  up  in  London. 

Very  few  men  enjoyed  life  as  Patrick  Edward  Dove 
enjoyed  his— for  a  time.  During  all  these  tours  he  was 


10          THE  BOOK  AND  THE  AUTHOR. 

practically  a  young  gentleman  of  leisure.  His  birth  and 
prospects  opened  all  portals  to  him.  He  was  unusually 
intelligent,  exceedingly  well  educated  and  as  handsome, 
if  we  may  credit  the  extant  accounts  of  those  who  knew 
him,  as  a  young  Greek  god.  He  had  the  happiest  of  dis- 
positions and  the  most  generous  of  natures.  It  does  not 
appear  that  he  loved  books  as  much  in  this  period  of  his 
life  as  he  did  subsequently,  but  then  there  are  other 
things  in  the  world  to  love  than  books. 

About  1840  he  came  into  his  property,  and  the  next 
year  he  took  that  estate  of  The  Craig  upon  which  he  lived 
so  happily.  A  first-rate  horseman,  a  skilful  sailor,  an 
excellent  mechanic,  he  found  in  this  period  of  his  life  that 
field  for  all  his  talents  so  essential  to  the  happiness  of  an 
active  nature  like  his. 

For  seven  years  the  bachelor  squire  lived  thus,  and  then 
awoke  one  morning  to  find  himself  a  ruined  man.  An 
imprudent  investment  swept  away  his  fortune.  This 
was  in  1848.  Before  many  more  months  he  married. 
It  is  due  to  Patrick  Edward  Dove  to  note  that  his  wife 
was  as  poor  as  himself.  It  is  due  to  Mrs.  Dove  to  say 
that  from  the  day  of  her  husband's  wedding  he  prospered 
— materially,  at  least. 

The  newly  wedded  couple  went  to  live  in  Germany. 
Darmstadt  was  their  place  of  residence.  Dove's  learning 
and  faculty  of  exposition  had  prompted  the  choice  of  a 
literary  career.  Here  the  Scotchman  studied  and  lectured 
and  wrote  with  industry  and  effect. 

"  The  Theory  of  Human  Progression,"  was  the  first 
fruit  of  this  toil.  It  was  the  book  upon  which  Dove 
expended  all  his  mind  and  soul.  He  poured  the  contents 
of  a  deeply  capacious  and  well-filled  intellect  into  it.  He 
lived  his  whole  mental  life  in  its  pages. 

The  work  appeared  anonymously.  Dove  at  this  time 
had  formed  a  project  of  connecting  himself  with  one  of  the 
universities,  and  his  prospects  would  certainly  have  been 


THE  BOOK  AND  THE  AUTHOR.  11 

jeopardized  had  the  parentage  of  this  child  of  his  intel- 
lect been  revealed.  The  edition  was  quite  limited,  bore 
the  date  of  1850,  and  appeared  simultaneously  in  London 
and  Edinburgh.  In  brief,  the  book  is  the  single-tax 
theory,  elucidated  a  generation  in  advance  of  Henry 
George,  by  one  of  the  profoundest  and  most  accurate 
scholars  of  his  day. 

Of  course  the  work  was  far  ahead  of  its  time.  Not  to 
mention  that  the  period  happened  to  be  one  in  which  the 
reading  public  was  small,  and  that  the  price  of  the  work 
confined  it  to  a  still  smaller  constituency,  there  is  the 
additional  circumstance  that  economic  works  were  not 
widely  read  by  the  masses  some  half  century  ago,  and  that 
those  who  did  see  it  were  most  concerned  in  its  suppression. 
Nevertheless,  Carlyle  read  and  praised  the  volume.  He 
is  quoted  as  acclaiming  it  the  voice  of  a  new  revolution, 
an  education  in  economics.  Sir  William  Hamilton,  the 
great  philosopher,  pronounced  the  book  epoch-making, 
and  calculated  to  rally  mankind  to  great  reforms.  Pro- 
fessor Blackie  likewise  praised  it  highly.  Our  own 
Charles  Simmer  was  so  impressed  by  it  that  he  circulated 
many  copies  in  the  United  States  and  persuaded  Dove 
to  write  in  behalf  of  the  emancipation  movement. 

For  all  that  the  book  failed  to  make  its  way  and  be- 
fore many.years  was  utterly  forgotten.  It  became  very 
scarce  in  time,  and  the  demand  for  it  on  the  part  of  a 
few  scholars  was  supplied  with  difficulty.  Not  until 
Henry  George  startled  the  world  with  "  Progress  and 
Poverty  "  was  it  recalled,  in  a  vague  way,  that  this  ques- 
tion of  the  land  had  been  similarly  answered  before. 
That  Mr.  George  was  influenced  by  the  book  we  are  told 
by  himself  in  "  A  Perplexed  Philosopher." 

Dove  had  intended  to  expound  a  political  system  of  his 
own  along  the  lines  set  forth  in  the  "  Theory  of  Human 
Progression,"  but  circumstances  interfered  with  the  com- 
pletion of  his  plan.  After  leaving  Germany  he  settled  in 


12         THE  BOOK  AND  THE  AUTHOR. 

Edinburgh,  and  soon  acquired  a  reputation  as  a  teacher 
and  writer.  He  lectured  on  "  Heroes  of  the  Common- 
wealth "at  the  Philosophical  Institution  in  1853.  Sub- 
sequently he  dealt  with  the  Crusades.  All  his  educational 
work  was  marked  by  ripe  scholarship  and  thoroughness, 
but  he  was  never  a  pedant.  Among  the  productions  of 
this  period  of  his  career,  are  "  Elements  of  Political 
Science  "  which  included  an  account  of  Andrew  Yarranton, 
founder  of  English  political  economy  (in  Dove's  opinion  at 
any  rate) ;  "  Romanism,  Rationalism,  and  Protestantism  ; " 
"Logic  of  Christian  Faith,"  and  various  essays  and 
reviews.  He  edited  the  "  Witness "  for  a  time,  also. 
During  his  incumbency  of  the  editorial  chair  that  publi- 
cation became  widely  known  throughout  Britain. 

The  latter  part  of  his  life  was  characterized  by  an 
interest  in  military  matters.  He  freely  expressed  the 
opinion  that  the  masses  in  their  own  interest  should 
familiarize  themselves  with  the  technicalities  of  warfare. 
He  did  his  best  to  popularize  this  sort  of  knowledge.  In 
1858  he  produced  a  treatise  on  the  Revolver  and  the 
handling  of  firearms  generally.  He  even  went  to  the 
length  of  inventing  a  rifle  cannon  which  was  commended 
by  competent  authorities.  A  significant  turn  of  mind, 
truly,  in  a  man  of  peace,  a  devout  Christian  and  a  scholar, 
yet  one  deeply  imbued  with  the  idea  of  the  ultimate  neces- 
sity of  social  revolution. 

Dove  became  also  commander  of  a  rifle  corps  and  of  a 
regiment  of  volunteers  which  he  drilled  and  equipped 
himself.  He  became  an  authority  on  the  militia.  By 
this  time  he  was  living  in  Glasgow,  and  in  1860  he  was 
suddenly  stricken  with  paralysis.  Every  expedient 
known  to  medicine  was  resorted  to  with  indifferent 
success,  and  a  few  years  later  he  travelled  to  Natal  in 
search  of  health.  This  trip  did  very  little  good,  and  he 
returned  before  long.  The  evening  of  his  days  had  come, 
and  Dove  accepted  the  situation  resignedly,  like  the  man 


THE  BOOK  AND  THE  AUTHOR.  13 

he  was.  Among  his  books  and  with  his  family  he  lived 
a  very  retired  life  until  1873,  in  which  year  he  died,  on 
April  28. 

There  never  lived  a  nobler  scholar  or  a  finer  gentleman. 
Fame  was  slow  in  crowning  him,  but  the  greatness  that 
comes  after  death  is  the  one  sort  that  endures.  His  life 
was  wrecked  in  a  speculation,  but  he  did  not  become 
morose.  At  the  risk  ot  his  position  in  the  world  he  stood 
up  for  the  Irish  cause  because  he  believed  Ireland  to  be 
oppressed  and  rack-rented.  Surely  no  more  impartial 
judge  of  this  people  than  a  Protestant  Briton  and  an 
honest  scholar  could  be  imagined.  The  Irish  and  the 
masses — they  were  doubtful  clients  in  the  reign  of  the 
Manchester  school,  and  Patrick  Edward  Dove  might  have 
been  richer  had  he  fought  on  another  side.  He  left  a 
widow,  a  son  who  bears  his  name,  and  two  daughters. 

What  does  Henry  George  owe  to  Patrick  Edward  Dove  ? 
Much.  Because  we  have  Henry  George's  word  for  it. 
The  latter  paid  a  glowing  tribute  to  the  former  at  a 
public  meeting  in  Glasgow  in  1884.  Had  Dove  possessed 
George's  power  of  rhetorical  presentation  or  had  he  ad- 
dressed a  different  audience,  his  work  might  have  met  with 
more  recognition  in  his  lifetime.  As  it  is  there  is  one 
error,  common  to  single  taxers,  and  to  the  people  at  large, 
which,  in  justice  to  a  friend  of  truth  should  be  corrected. 
That  error  is  in  calling  the  single  tax  Henry  George's 
theory.  The  single  tax,  without  regard  to  anything  Dove 
has  written,  is  not  a  contrivance  invented  by  any  man, 
like  the  telephone  or  the  cotton  gin.  The  single  tax  is 
not  among  the  things  that  are  invented.  That  the  land 
belongs  to  the  people  is  a  truth  existing  from  all  time. 
Two  and  two  were  equal  to  four  long  before  man  discovered 
the  fact.  In  justice  to  Henry  George  it  should  be  ac- 
knowledged that  he  himself  proclaims  this  fact.  He 
carefully  traces  the  land  theory  back  to  eighteenth  century 
economists. 


14         THE  BOOK  AND  THE  AUTHOR. 

Nor,  on  the  other  hand,  is  Henry  George  to  be  robbed 
of  his  own  laurels.  By  a  series  of  wide  pendent  investiga- 
tions he,  too,  arrived  at  truth.  What  Dove  did  for 
scholars,  George  achieved  for  the  masses.  The  differ- 
ence between  the  two  is  that  a  refutation  of  George  may 
be  essayed,  but  Dove's  arguments  are  unanswerable. 

ALEXANDER   HARVEY. 


DEDICATION. 


TO 

MONSIEUR  VICTOR  COUSIN, 

PKOFESSOK  OF  PHILOSOPHY  AT  PARIS. 

SIR, 

To  you  I  beg  leave  to  dedicate  the  following  Essay  on 
Human  Progression,  with  those  sentiments  of  esteem  and 
admiration  which  I  share  in  common  with  so  many  of  my 
countrymen. 

The  truth  I  endeavor  to  inculcate  is — That  credence 
rules  the  world — that  credence  determines  the  condition 
and  fixes  the  destiny  of  nations — that  true  credence  must 
ever  entail  with  it  a  correct  and  beneficial  system  of 
society,  while  false  credence  must  ever  be  accompanied 
by  despotism,  anarchy,  and  wrong — that  before  a  nation 
can  change  its  condition  it  must  change  its  credence ;  that 
change  of  credence  will  of  necessity  be  accompanied  sooner 
or  later  by  change  of  condition  :  and  consequently,  that 
true  credence,  or  in  other  words  knowledge,  is  the  only 
means  by  which  man  can  work  out  his  wellbeing  and 
ameliorate  his  condition  on  the  globe. 

To  no  one  could  I  dedicate  a  work  intended  to  elucidate 
these  principles,  so  appropriately  as  to  yourself — to  you, 
Sir,  who  have  labored  so  earnestly  and  so  well  to  give  to 
your  countrymen  a  correct  system  of  Ethical  Philosophy, 
and,  through  them,  to  communicate  to  Europe  a  scheme 


16  DEDICATION. 

of  natural  morals  which  must  erelong  bear  a  rich  and 
most  beneficial  harvest. 

The  question  is  often  asked,  What  is^the  use  of  philos- 
ophy?— nor  is  the  answer  difficult.  Next  to  religion, 
philosophy  is,  of  all  known  causes,  the  element  that  most 
powerfully  tends  to  determine  the  condition  of  a  country. 
It  is  a  power — a  power  so  vast  that  we  are  scarcely  likely 
to  overestimate  its  effects  ;  and,  though  it  must  ever  be 
unable  to  solve  the  great  questions  in  which  our  race  is 
involved,  it  may,  by  uprooting  political  superstitions  and 
false  religions,  exercise  an  influence  that  no  calculation 
can  compute.  The  theories  of  one  generation  become 
the  habitual  credence  of  the  next  ;  and  that  habitual 
credence,  transformed  into  a  rule  of  action,  is  erelong 
realized  as  a  palpable  fact  in  the  outward  condition  of 
society.  And  thus  it  may  be  truly  said — As  the  philosophy 
of  a  country  is,  so  its  condition  will  be. 

In  aiding  so  powerfully  as  you  have  done  to  substitute 
a  rational  philosophy  for  the  sensationalism  that  pre- 
viously prevailed,  you  have  conferred  a  boon  on  France 
and  on  the  world ;  and  your  eloquent  appeals  for  the 
principles  of  natural  duty  will,  no  doubt,  find  a  response 
in  the  hearts  of  your  countrymen,  that  must  carry  them 
onward  to  even  a  higher  and  more  stable  glory  than  they 
have  ever  yet  attained. 

France  has  yet  to  read  her  great  lesson  of  new  phi- 
losophy to  the  continent  of  Europe  ;  and  every  student  of 
the  world's  thoughts  and  the  world's  actions  must  rejoice 
that  you,  Sir,  have  been  her  instructor,  and  that  you  have 
laid  on  her  those  moral  obligations,  of  which  to  propagate 
the  principles  must  open  up  to  her  a  new  and  glorious 
career. 

Accept,  Sir,  the  dedication  of  this  work  as  a  tribute  of 
respect  from  your  sincere  admirer, 

THE  AUTHOR. 


INTRODUCTION. 

PRELIMINARY  EXPLANATION  OF  THE  NATURE  OF 
POLITICAL  SCIENCE. 


BEFORE  attempting  to  exhibit  an  argument  to  establish 
the  possibility  of  a  science  of  politics,  and  to  prove  also 
the  probability  that  such  a  science  may  reasonably  be 
expected  to  evolve  at  this  period  of  man's  progressive 
acquisition  of  knowledge,  it  is  necessary  to  define  exactly 
what  we  mean  by  a  science  of  politics. 

Science  is  nature  seen  by  the  reason,  and  not  merely  by 
the  senses.  Science  exists  in  the  mind,  and  in  the  mind 
alone.  Wherever  the  substantives  of  a  science  may  be 
derived  from,  or  whatever  may  be  their  character,  they 
form  portions  of  a  science  only  as  they  are  made  to  function 
logically  in  the  human  reason.  Unless  they  are  connected 
by  the  law  of  reason  and  consequent,  so  that  one  proposi- 
tion is  capable  of  being  correctly  evolved  from  two  or 
more  other  propositions,  called  the  premises,  the  science  as 
yet  has  no  existence,  and  has  still  to  be  discovered.  Logic, 
therefore,  is  the  universal  form  of  all  science.  It  is  science 
with  blank  categories,  and  when  these  blank  categories  are 
rilled  up,  either  with  numbers,  quantities,  and  spaces,  as  in 
the  mathematical  sciences,  or  with  the  qualities  and  powers 
of  matter,  as  in  the  physical  sciences,  mathematics  and 
physics  take  their  scientific  origin,  and  assume  an  ordina- 
tion which  is  not  arbitrary.  Science,  then,  wherever  it  is 
developed,  is  the  same  for  the  human  intellect  whei-ever 

17 


18  INTRODUCTION. 

that  intellect  can  comprehend  it.     It  abolishes  diversity 
of  credence,  and  re-establishes  unity  of  credence. 

We  have  then  to  ask,  "  What  is  the  matter  of  political 
science?  "  Of  what  does  it  treat  ?  What  are  its  substan- 
tives ?  What  is  the  general  character  of  the  truths  it 
professes  to  develop  ? 

1.  It  treats  exclusively  of  men. 

2.  It  treats  exclusively  of  the  relations  between  man 
and  man. 

3.  It  treats  exclusively  of    the    relations  of  men  in 
equity. 

Equity  or  justice  is  the  object-noun  of  the  science  of 
politics,  as  number  is  the  object-noun  of  arithmetic ; 
quantity,  of  algebra ;  space,  of  geometry ;  or  value  of 
political  economy.  * 

Politics,  then,  is  the  science  of  Equity,  and  treats  of  the 
relations  of  Men  in  equity. 

The  fundamental  fact  from  which  its  propositions  de- 
rive a  practical  importance,  is  the  following : — 

"  Men  are  capable  of  acting  equitably  or  unequitably 
towards  each  other." 

To  obliterate  all  unequitable  (or  unjust)  action  of  one 
man  towards  another,  or  of  one  body  of  men  towards  an- 
other body  of  men,  is  therefore  the  practical  ultimatum 
of  the  science  of  politics. 

*  It  must  be  observed  that  equity  or  justice  is  not  itself  capable  of  defi- 
nition. If  it  were  so  it  could  not  be  the  object-noun  of  a  science,  as  no 
science  ever  defines  its  object-noun.  For  instance,  unity,  quantity,  space, 
force,  matter,  value,  are  all  incapable  of  definition  ;  but  forms  of  unity, 
forms  of  quantity,  forms  of  space,  forms  of  force,  forms  of  matter,  forms 
of  value,  are  capable  of  definition.  On  this  subject  we  have  some  observa- 
tions to  offer  hereafter  ;  but  if  the  reader  should  suppose  that  a  science 
ought  to  define  its  object-noun,  he  has  only  to  refer  to  the  mathematical 
sciences,  not  one  of  which  ever  attempts  to  offer  a  definition  of  its  noun- 
substantive  major.  Were  a  geometrician  to  offer  the  smallest  specula- 
tion as  to  what  space  is,  he  would  have  departed  altogether  from  the 
province  of  geometric  science.  Spurious  definitions  of  value  are  occasion- 
ally set  forth  ;  that  is,  we  are  told  not  what  value  is,  but  what  it  does,  a 
mode  of  definition  altogether  illicit. 


INTRODUCTION,  19 

Politics,  then,  professes  to  develop  the  laws  by  which 
human  actions  ought  to  be  regulated,  in  so  far  as  men 
interfere  with  each  other. 

Human  actions  may  be  viewed  under  various  distinct 
aspects — 

1.  In  their  physiological  aspect.     In  this  aspect,  to  kill 
a  man  is  to  inflict  such  an  injury  on  his  bodily  frame  as 
causes  the  cessation  of  his  functions. 

2.  In  their  economical  aspect.     In  this  aspect,  to  kill  a 
man  is  to  destroy  a  mechanism  which  possessed  so  much 
value;  and,  consequently,  to  inflict  a  greater  or  less  in  jury 
to  society,  according  to  the  value  of  the  person  killed. 
Men  cost  a  considerable  expense  to  rear,  and  the  destruc- 
tion of  the  object  reared  is,  or  may  be,  the  loss  of  the  cost 
and  profit. 

3.  In  their  political  aspect.      In  this  aspect,  to  kill  a 
man  may  be  a  crime,  or  a  duty,  or  neither  (an  accident 
for  instance).    If  by  accident,  the  physiological  fact  is  the 
same,  the  economical  fact  the  same,  but  the  political  fact 
is  essentially  different  from  intentional  killing. 

4.  In  their  religious  aspect.     In  this  aspect,  to  kill  a 
man  may  be  either  a  sin  or  a  righteous  act ;  and  in  this 
aspect  the  killing  involves  all  the  three  previous  modes, 
as  intention  is  taken  for  granted. 

Politics  then,  in  its  position,  is  posterior  to  political 
economy,  and  anterior  to  religion.  It  superadds  a  new 
concept  to  economics,  and  religion  again  superadds  a  new 
concept  to  politics.  Political  economy  in  no  respect  can 
be  allowed  to  discourse  of  duty,  nor  can  politics  be  allowed 
to  discourse  of  sin.  Economy  superadds  the  concept  value 
to  physiology,  and  the  physiologist  has  exactly  the  same 
case  to  deny  the  value  of  the  economist  that  the  economist 
has  to  deny  the  equity  of  the  politician,  or  the  politician 
to  deny  the  religious  quality  of  actions  posited  by  the 
divine.  The  four  regions  are  perfectly  distinct ;  distinct 
in  their  noun-substantive  major,  distinct  in  the  end  of  their 


20  INTRODUCTION. 

inquiries,  distinct  in  their  method,  and  distinct  in  their 
practical  signification  and  importance,  although  all  meet- 
ing in  the  organized,  intellectual,  moral,  and  religious 
being,  Man. 

Into  politics,  therefore,  no  action  can  be  allowed  to 
enter  which  is  not  at  the  same  time  intentional,  and  the 
action  of  one  man,  or  one  body  of  men,  on  another  man, 
or  body  of  men. 

The  substantives,  then,  that  enter  the  science  of  politics, 
are — 

Man,  Will,  Action ; 

and  the  general  problem  is  to  discover  the  laws  which 
should  regulate  the  voluntary  actions  of  men  towards 
each  other,  and  thereby  to  determine  what  the  order  of 
society  in  its  practical  construction  and  arrangement 
ought  to  be.  Men  have  social  rules  of  action ;  and,  from 
the  condition  of  men  on  the  surface  of  the  globe,  men 
must  have  social  'rules  of  action,  whether  those  rules  are 
right  or  wrong.  (A  practical  necessity  exists  for  some 
kind  of  determination ;  but  it  is  plain  from  history,  that 
in  many  cases  the  practical  rules  have  been  altogether 
erroneous  and  criminal.)  It  is  therefore  necessary  to  dis- 
cover what  the  rules  ought  to  be ;  for  the  rules  determine 
the  political  condition  of  society. 

In  politics,  as  in  every  other  science,  it  is  necessary  to 
classify  the  forms  of  the  matter  with  which  we  reason ; 
thus  geometry  classifies  the  forms  of  space  into  lines, 
angles,  and  figures. 

Actions,  then,  are  classified  into  duties  and  crimes. 
But  as  duty  and  crime  are  thus  viewed  subjectively,  it  is 
necessary  to  determine  the  objective  characteristics,  of 
a  duty  and  a  crime,  so  as  to  be  able  to  determine  the 
character  of  the  action  itself,  without  inquiring  into  its 
motives.  The  only  requisite  would  then  be  to  ascertain 
whether  it  was  or  was  not  intentional,  for  this  intention- 
ality  can  never  be  laid  aside. 


INTRODUCTION.  21 

Again,  it  is  not  only  necessary  to  take  into  considera- 
tion man,  the  subject,  with  whom  lies  the  whole  question 
of  human  liberty,  but  the  earth,  the  object,  with  which 
lies  the  whole  question  of  human  property. 

The  same  division  that  enabled  us  to  classify  human 
actions,  will  enable  us  to  exhibit  the  aspects  in  which  the 
earth  is  considered. 

1.  The  earth  may  be  viewed  as  involved  in  physical 
science.     In  this  aspect,  it  is    involved   in   astronomy, 
mechanics,  chemistry,  etc. 

2.  The  earth  may  be  viewed  as  economical  science.    In 
this  aspect,  it  is  a  power  of  production — a  power  capable 
of  producing  wealth. 

3.  The  earth  may  be  viewed  as  involved  in  political 
science.    In  this  aspect,  the  power   of   production   has 
superadded  to  it  the  concept,  property.     Economy  can  no 
more  discourse  of  property  than  it  can  discourse  of  duty 
or  crime.     Property  is  a  quality  altogether  incapable  of  be- 
ing apprehended  in  the  object  itself  by  means  of  sensa- 
tional observation,  exactly  as  the  criminality  of  an  action 
can  never  be  apprehended  in  the  physiological  characteris- 
tics of  the  action. 

4.  The  earth  may  be  viewed  as  involved  in  religion. 
"  The  earth  is  the  Lord's,  and  the  fulness  thereof."    The 
difference  between  the  political  and  the  religious  mode  of 
viewing  the  earth  as  property,  is  this : — in  politics,  the 
power  of  production  is  viewed  as  property ;  in  religion, 
the  substance  is  viewed  as  property.     Politics  in  no  re- 
spect treats  of  the  substance,  although  the  feudal  system 
— according  to  which  the  King  derived  his  rights  from 
God — assumed  the  proprietorship  of  the  substance,  exactly 
as  the  correlative  system,  the  Papacy,  claimed  for  its  head 
the  spiritual  vicegerency  of  God,  and  assumed  the  power 
of  forgiving  sin.    The  feudal  system  has  transmitted,  on 
this  subject  of  property,  a  superstition  strictly  analogous 
to  that  of  slavery.     The  slave  was  an  object,  not  an  agent, 


22  INTRODUCTION. 

— a  thing,  not  a  being ;  he  was  property,  and  could  not 
possess  property.  In  course  of  time,  however,  he  passed 
from  the  objective  and  superstitious  mode  of  estimation, 
and  became  transformed  in  to  a  political  agent  and  power. 
The  earth  has  not  yet  been  transformed  into  a  power ; 
but  the  whole  analogy  of  scientific  progress  would,  we 
think,  lead  to  the  belief  that  it  will  come,  erelong,  to  be 
viewed  in  this  light. 

It  is  quite  evident  that  the  earth  cannot  function  in 
political  economy  until  it  is  transformed  into  a  power  of 
production  having  a  value.  And,  to  carry  it  forward  into 
the  science  of  politics,  all  that  is  requisite  is  to  apply  the 
axiom,  "  an  object  is  the  property  of  its  creator ; "  so  that 
when  political  economy  has  determined,  by  a  scientific 
method  which  is  not  arbitrary,  what  value  is  created  and 
who  creates  this  value,  politics  takes  up  the  question 
where  political  economy  had  left  it,  and  determines,  ac- 
cording to  a  method  which  is  not  arbitrary,  to  whom  the 
created  value  should  be  allocated. 

We  have  thus  the  substantives  man,  will,  action,  duty, 
crime,  property;  but  as  action  of  one  man  upon. another 
necessarily  implies  an  agent  and  an  object,  a  doer  and  a 
sufferer,  the  same  action  may  be  regarded  in  its  relation 
to  the  agent  and  in  its  relation  to  the  object.  Thus  the 
action  which  is  called  a  crime  in  the  agent,  is  called  a 
wrong  in  respect  to  the  person  against  whom  the  crime  is 
committed ;  and  again,  whatever  duty  may  lie  upon  one 
man,  gives  birth  to  a  coextensive  and  correlative  right  in 
all  other  men.  If  one  man  is  bound  not  to  murder  or  to 
defraud,  another  man  has  a  coextensive  and  correlative 
right  to  be  unmurdered  and  undefrauded ;  and  herein 
lies  the  whole  theory  of  human  rights.  Thus  the  terms 
present  themselves  in  the  following  manner  : — 

Agent  or  Person  acting.  Person  acted  upon. 

A  duty.  A  right. 

A  crime.  A  wrong. 


INTRODUCTION.  23 

Finally,  then,  the  principal  substantives  of  the  science 
of  politics  are : — man,  will,  action,  duty,  crime,  rights, 
wrongs,  and  property.  And  equity  or  justice  is  the  object- 
noun  of  the  science  in  which  the  relations  have  to  be 
determined. 

From  the  previous  considerations  it  is  evident  that  po- 
litical science,  if  it  can  be  exhibited  as  really  and  truly  a 
a  branch  of  knowledge,  must  assume  to  determine,  not 
merely  the  laws  that  should  regulate  an  individual,  but 
any  number  of  individuals  associated  together.  If  an 
action  be  criminal  for  an  individual,  it  is  no  less  criminal 
for  ten  individuals,  or  a  hundred,  or  a  thousand  or  a  mill- 
ion. If  it  be  a  crime  for  one  man  to  seize  another  man  and 
reduce  him  to  slavery,  the  criminality  of  the  action  is  in 
no  respect  diminished  if  a  whole  nation  should  commit 
the  action  with  all  imaginable  formalities.  If  it  be  a 
crime  for  one  man  who  is  more  powerful  than  another  to 
deprive  that  other  of  property  without  his  consent,  the 
action  is  no  less  criminal  if  a  thousand  or  a  million  deprive 
another  thousand  or  million  of  their  property  without 
their  consent.  Science  can  acknowledge  none  of  these 
arbitrary  distinctions.  If  there  be  a  rule  at  all,  it  must 
be  general ;  and  therefore  political  science  must  assume 
to  determine  the  principles  upon  which  political  societies 
ought  to  be  constructed,  and  also  to  determine  the  princi- 
ples on  which  human  laws  ought  to  be  made. 

And  as  there  cannot  be  the  slightest  doubt  that  God 
has  made  truth  the  fountain  of  good,  it  may  perhaps  be 
fairly  expected,  that  if  ever  political  science  is  fairly 
evolved  and  really  reduced  to  practice,  it  will  confer  a 
greater  benefit  on  mankind,  and  prevent  a  greater  amount 
of  evil,  than  all  the  other  sciences. 

Political  science  is  peculiarly  man-science ;  and  though, 
as  yet,  the  subject  is  little  or  no  better  than  a  practical 
superstition,  we  propose,  in  the  present  volume,  to  exhibit 
an  argument,  affording,  we  think,  sufficient  ground  for 


24  INTR  OD  UCTION. 

believing  that  it  will,  at  no  distant  period,  be  reduced  to 
the  same  form  and  ordination  as  the  other  sciences. 

Of  course,  anything  like  a  unity  of  credence  is  at  pres- 
ent altogether  out  of  the  question.  Such  a  unity  is  neither 
possible  nor  desirable.  It  could  only  be  a  superstition — 
that  is,  a  credence  without  evidence.  To  produce  convic- 
tion, therefore,  is  not  so  much  our  hope,  as  to  endeavor 
to  open  up  the  questions  that  really  require  solution. 
And  here  we  must  be  allowed  a  remark  on  the  subject  of 
politics,  taking  the  term  in  its  general  signification.  Per- 
haps no  subject,  except  religion,  absorbs  so  large  a  share 
of  the  attention  of  Britain,  and  perhaps  no  subject  has  so 
small  a  portion  of  English  literature  devoted  to  its  expo- 
sition. At  the  utmost,  there  are  only  a  very  few  works 
which  can  be  called  dissertations  on  the  principles  of 
political  ethics.  This  paucity  of  special  works  is  certainly 
one  of  the  most  curious  facts  in  the  history  of  literature. 
The  word  politics  is  in  almost  every  man's  mouth  ;  the 
subject  involves  interests  of  the  utmost  magnitude ;  ques- 
tions of  politics  are  continually  in  debate ;  the  greatest 
assembly  in  the  kingdom  assembles  yearly  to  discuss 
practical  measures,  which  are  necessarily  founded  on  some 
theoretic  principles  (right  or  wrong) ;  and  yet,  perhaps, 
no  subject  of  ordinary  interest  could  be  named  that  has 
so  small  a  quantity  of  literature  devoted  to  the  exposi- 
tion of  its  more  general  truths. 

The  current  literature  of  politics  is  one  of  the  wonders 
of  the  world,  but  the  book  literature  is  of  the  scantiest 
character.  Some  of  it  is  said  to  be  antiquated  (Milton 
and  Locke,  for  instance — a  very  great  mistake,  as  we  pro- 
pose to  show  hereafter),  and  some  of  it  never  even  ap- 
proaches the  main  questions.  Under  these  circumstances, 
therefore,  perhaps  no  apology  is  requisite  for  an  endeavor 
to  systematize  the  subject. 

The  first  question  in  every  branch  of  knowledge  is  its 
method.  So  long  as  the  method  is  in  dispute,  the  whole 


INTRODUCTION.  25 

subject  is  necessarily  involved,  not  only  in  obscurity,  but 
in  doubt.  Without  method  there  can  be  no  standard  of 
appeal — no  process  of  proof — no  means  of  determining 
otherwise  than  by  opinion,  whether  a  proposition  is  true 
or  false.  But  even  if  opinion  were  the  rule,  this  could 
not  exclude  the  necessity  for  theoretic  principles.  Whose 
opinion  is  to  be  taken  as  the  rule  ?  Is  it  the  opinion  of 
the  Emperor,  as  in  Russia?  or  the  opinion  of  the  free 
population,  as  in  the  United  States  ?  *  or  the  opinion  of 
the  whole  male  population,  as  in  France  ?  or  the  opinion 
of  a  small  portion  of  the  population,  as  in  Britain  ?  What- 
ever system  may  be  practically  adopted,  that  system 
necessarily  involves  a  theory ;  and  the  question  is,  "  Is 
there  any  possibility  of  discovering  or  evolving  a  natural 
theory  which  is  not  arbitrary?"  Is  there  in  the  question 
of  man's  political  relation  to  man,  a  truth  and  a  falsity  as 
independent  of  man's  opinion  as  are  the  truths  of  geom- 
etry or  astronomy  ?  A  truth  there  must  be  somewhere, 
and  in  the  present  volume  we  attempt  to  exhibit  the 
probability  of  its  evolution. 

Our  argument  is  based  on  the  theory  of  progress,  or 
the  fact  of  progress  ;  for  it  is  a  fact  as  well  as  a  theory. 
And  the  theory  of  progress  is  based  on  the  principle,  that 
there  is  an  order  in  which  man  not  only  does  evolve  the 
various  branches  of  knowledge,  but  an  order  in  which 
man  must  necessarily  evolve  the  various  branches  of 
knowledge.  And  this  necessity  is  based  on  the  principle, 
that  every  science  when  undergoing  its  process  of  dis- 
covery is  objective,  that  is,  the  object  of  contemplation ; 
but  when  discovered  and  reduced  to  ordination  it  becomes 
subjective,  that  is,  a  means  of  operation  for  the  discovery 
and  evolution  of  the  science  that  lies  logically  beyond  it, 
and  next  to  it  in  logical  proximity. 

If  this  logical  dependence  of  one  science  on  another 

*  This  of  course  refers  to  the  institution  of  slavery  then  in  vogue  in  our 
republic. — A.  H. 


26  INTRODUCTION. 

could  be  clearly  made  out  for  the  whole  realm  of  knowl- 
edge, it  would  give  the  outline,  not  only  of  the  classifica- 
tion of  the  sciences,  but  of  man's  intellectual  history — of 
man's  intellectual  development — where  the  word  develop- 
ment means,  not  the  alteration  of  man's  nature,  but  the 
extension  of  his  knowledge,  and  the  consequent  improve- 
ment of  his  mode  of  action,  entailing  with  it  the  improve- 
ment of  his  condition. 

And  if  the  law  of  this  intellectual  development  can  be 
made  out  for  the  branches  of  knowledge  which  have  al- 
ready been  reduced  to  •  ordination,  it  may  be  carried  into 
the  future,  and  the  future  progress  of  mankind  may  be 
seen  to  evolve  logically  out  of  the  past  progress. 

Let  us  then  consider  the  aspects  in  which  a  science  of 
politics  may  be  viewed. 

1.  In  the  probability  of  its   evolution,  based  on  the 
logical  determination  of  its  position  in  a  scheme  of  classi- 
fication. 

2.  In  its  constituent  propositions,  and  the  method  it 
employs  for  their  substantiation. 

3.  In  the  history  of  its  doctrine  (  not  the  history  of  its 
books) — in  the  history  of  the  past  reduction  of  its  theoretic 
principles  to  practice,  and  in  the  application  of  its  prin- 
ciples to  the  present  condition  of  society ;  thereby  attempt- 
ing to  estimate  what  changes  ought  to  be  made,  and  what, 
in  fact,  ought  to  be  the  one  definite  form  of  political 
society. 

The  present  volume  professes  to  treat  of  the  first  of 
these  divisions. 

In  attempting  to  classify  the  sciences,  and  to  show  that 
they  evolve  logically  out  of  each  other,  we  do  not  profess, 
in  the  slightest  degree,  to  discourse  on  the  matter  of  the 
sciences  themselves,  further  than  their  primary  proposi- 
tions are  concerned ;  but  on  their  form,  their  position, 
their  actual  development  (as  commonly  acknowledged), 
and  on  the  lesson  which,  as  a  whole,  they  must  ultimately 
teach. 


INTRODUCTION.  27 

With  regard  to  the  classification  of  the  mathematical 
sciences,  we  have  not  the  slightest  misgivings.  We  be- 
lieve that  the  order  in  which  they  are  presented  will  be 
found  correct ;  and  as  logic  has  not  usually  been  con- 
sidered as  the  first  and  simplest  of  the  mathematical 
sciences,  we  have  said  rather  more  on  logic  than  might 
otherwise  have  been  necessary. 

With  regard  to  the  inorganic  physical  sciences,  the 
mode  of  classification  is  by  no  means  so  evident.  The 
method  according  to  which  they  must  be  classed,  if  we 
knew  their  characteristics,  is  apparent  enough ;  but  that 
difficulties  attend  the  application  of  the  method,  so  as  to 
locate  the  various  suites  of  phenomena  in  an  unobjection- 
able scheme,  must  certainly  be  admitted.  The  difficulties 
will  no  doubt  be  ultimately  removed ;  but  they  must,  in 
the  first  place,  be  removed  by  the  acquiescence  of  men  of 
science  before  the  mere  logician  can  profess  to  arrange 
the  materials,  and  to  schematize  the  branches  of  knowl- 
edge according  to  their  essential  characteristics. 

Thus  it  belongs  to  the  physicist  to  determine  whether 
there  is,  or  is  not,  a  material  substance  called  light ;  but 
it  does  not  belong  to  the  physicist  to  determine  whether 
the  mechanical  phenomena  of  light  are,  or  are  not,  to  be 
confounded  with  its  chemical  phenomena.  Let  light  be 
what  it  may,  the  mechanical  (including  the  geometric) 
phenomena  of  light  fall  necessarily  before  the  chemical 
phenomena.  Again,  it  belongs  to  the  physicist  to  deter- 
mine what  sound  is ;  but  the  mechanics  of  sound  (vibra- 
tion )  must  be  logically  separated  from  the  music  of  sound 
(tone,  etc.),  inasmuch  as  the  music  might  be  studied  with- 
out even  the  knowledge  that  the  sound  was  accompanied 
by,  or  produced  by,  vibration  ;  and,  on  the  other  hand,  the 
vibrations  might  be  observed  and  measured  by  a  deaf 
person,  who  could  have  no  knowledge  of  tone,  and  to 
whom  the  vibrations  would  be  only  motions. 

Chemistry,  again,  treats  of  the  qualitative  characteristics 


28  INTRODUCTION. 

of  matter,  and  it  may  be  viewed  in  one  sense  as  a  science 
complete  in  itself.  But  if  such  a  major  power  could  be 
discovered  as  would  produce  the  phenomena  logically  in 
the  observed  conditions,  then  chemistry,  from  being  a 
science  in  itself,  would  become  only  the  classification  of 
a  science,  and  the  power,  whatever  name  it  might  receive, 
would  assume  the  precedence,  because  the  qualitative  re- 
lations would  be  made  to  function  under  the  influence  of 
the  power. 

.  Every  function,  of  whatever  character,   or  wherever 
found,  we  assume  to  present  itself  under  the  form  of 

An  Agent,  An  Object,  A  Product ; 

and  this  division  belongs,  in  no  respect,  to  any  one  par- 
ticular science,  but  to  all, — that  is,  it  is  a  necessary  form 
of  thought,  and  being  so,  it  belongs  to  the  metaphysician. 
Now,  if  a  science  be  viewed  as  a  complete  function,  it 
must  range  all  its  substantives  under  one  of  these  heads. 
Everything  of  which  science  treats  must  be  ranked  either 
as  agent,  object,  or  phenomenon ;  and  no  science  can  be 
considered  as  completed,  even  in  part,  until  it  has  made 
such  a  logical  ordination  as  will  make  the  phenomenon 
to  result  logically  from  the  operation  of  the  agent  on  the 
object.  But  while  a  science  is  undergoing  its  process  of 
discovery,  this  logical  ordination  of  its  parts  is  illegiti- 
mate, and  cannot  be  made  on  sufficient  grounds ;  so  that 
the  development  of  the  constituent  propositions  of  a 
science  is  necessary  before  its  various  portions  can  be 
classified  in  such  a  manner  as  to  satisfy  the  requirements 
of  the  reason. 

Under  these  circumstances,  we  have  given  only  a  gen- 
eral estimate,  sufficient  to  direct  the  line  of  argument 
without  trespassing  on  special  departments,  or  intruding 
opinions  on  subjects  that  lie  beyond  our  province.  To 
construct  an  argument  that  should  be  in  the  main  correct, 
is  all  we  could  hope  to  achieve. 


CHAPTER  I. 

ON  THE  ELEMENTS  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION. 


SECTION    I. REMARKS    OX    THE    MATTERS  INVOLVED     IN 

POLITICAL    SCIENCE. 

A  distinction  must  necessarily  be  drawn  between  the 
science  of  politics  itself,  and  its  application  to  Man. 

The  science  is  purely  abstract  and  theoretic.  It  pro- 
fesses only  to  determine  the  trueness  or  falsity  of  certain 
propositions  which  are  apprehended  by  the  reason ;  and 
the  reason  may  take  into  consideration  this  trueness  or 
falsity,  without  dwelling  on  the  fact  that  man  is  a  moral 
being,  who  ought  to  act  in  accordance  with  such  princi- 
ples as  are  legitimately  substantiated.  In  this  sense  the 
science  of  politics  is  as  purely  abstract  as  geometry, 
which  determines  the  general  relations  of  figures,  with- 
out in  the  slightest  degree  attempting  to  pronounce 
whether  there  are  any  real  material  objects  to  which  its 
truths  can  be  applied. 

But  when  we  have  admitted  the  fact,  that  man  is  a 
moral  being,  the  theoretic  dogma  becomes  transformed 
into  a  practical  rule  of  action,  which  lays  an  imperative 
obligation  on  man  to  act  in  a  particular  manner,  and  to 
refrain  from  acting  in  another  manner.  The  theoretic 
truth  determines  the  relations  of  moral  beings,  and  con- 
sequently determines  what  ought  to  be  their  conditions 
with  regard  to  each  other ;  the  practical  rule  determines 

29 


30  THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION. 

what  man  may,  or  may  not,  do  justly,  and  consequently 
what  the  political  construction  of  civil  society  ought  to  be. 
The  science  of  politics  then  treats  of  equity,  and  of  the 
relations  of  men  in  equity.  And  the  general  questions 
which  the  science  has  to  solve  are — 

1.  What  are  those  actions  which  men  may  do  equi- 
tably ? 

2.  What  are  those  actions  which  men  are  by  equity 
bound  to  do  ? 

3.  What  are  those   actions  which  men  cannot  do  equi- 
tably ;  that  is,  what  are  those  actions  which,  though  they 
may  actually  be  done,  are  not,   and  never  can,  be,  equi- 
table? 

Political  science,  therefore,  discourses  of  human 
actions ;  and  these  actions,  classified  with  regard  to  the 
agent,  are  divided  into  duties,  crimes,  and  negative 
actions.  But  when  the  moral  motives  of  the  agent  are 
left  out  of  account,  the  actions  themselves  are  investi- 
gated as  to  their  characteristics,  and  they  may  then  be 
treated  of  in  their  relation  to  the  two  great  categories  of 
political  science,  liberty  and  property. 

Under  the  heads  of  liberty  and  property  all  questions 
of  politics  may  be  discussed,  bearing  in  mind  always 
that  political  science  treats  exclusively  of  the  relations  of 
men.  The  questions  then  assume  the  form  of — 

1.  What  are  the  equitable    relations  of  men  in   the 
ma-tter  of  liberty  ? 

2.  What   are  the  equitable  relations  of  men  in  the 
matter  of  property  ? 

Both  of  these  objects,  liberty  and  property,  may  be 
treated  of  under  the  head  of  human  action  (the  moral 
laws  of  property  being  nothing  more  than  rules  which 
prescribe  or  prohibit  certain  modes  of  human  action),  but 
the  division  conveniently  expresses  a  distinction  of  the 
objects  upon  which  action  may  be  exercised.  Thus,  an 
exposition  of  the  laws  of  liberty  should  determine  the 


THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION,  31 

moral  rules  that  preside  over  the  actions  of  men  in  the 
matter  of  mutual  interference ;  while  an  exposition  of 
the  laws  of  property  should  determine  the  moral  rules 
that  preside  over  men  in  their  possession  of  the  earth. 

But  politics,  taking  into  consideration  only  the  rela- 
tions of  men,  cannot  take  cognizance  of  any  duty  which 
would  still  be  a  duty  if  only  one  man  were  in  existence. 
The  duties  of  religion  that  relate  to  the  Creator  are  be- 
yond and  above  the  sphere  of  politics ;  and  so  also  are 
the  duties  of  benevolence,  which  belong  to  another  cate- 
gory than  equity. 

It  is  only  as  men  may  act  towards  each  other  equitably 
or  unequitably  that  we  consider  their  relations.  An  act 
of  benevolence  is  not,  strictly  speaking,  either  equitable 
or  unequitable.  The  recipient  has  no  equitable  claim  to 
the  bounty  ;  and  what  the  donor  gives,  he  gives  not  to 
satisfy  the  law  of  equity,  but  a  higher  law,  which  applies 
to  him  as  an  individual,  but  which  it  is  impossible  to 
apply  (by  law  and  force)  to  a  society.  The  relations  of 
men  in  society  must  first  be  constructed  on  the  principle 
of  equity,  and  then  each  individual  may  exercise  his  be- 
nevolence as  occasion  may  require.  Were  there  no  equity 
there  could  be  no  benevolence,  because  no  man  could 
know  what  was  his  own,  or  what  he  had  a  right  to  give.* 

Liberty,  like  slavery,  poverty,  depravity,  purity,  beauty, 
etc.,  is  one  of  those  concepts  that  men  have  idealized,  and 
made  into  nouns-substantive,  for  the  purpose  of  using 
them  with  greater  facility  in  language.  As  such,  it  is 
incapable  of  definition,  not  being  composed  of  any  more 
simple  concepts.  In  this  sense  it  is  an  object,  and  may 
be  reasoned  with  like  any  other  noun.  But  it  also  signi- 
fies a  condition,  namely,  the  condition  in  which  a  man 

*  For  instance,  the  kings  of  England  gave  lands  (which  belonged  to  the 
crown,  that  is,  to  the  nation)  to  private  individuals.  The  question  then  is, 
had  the  incumbent  monarch  a  right  to  alienate  those  lands  in  perpetuity 
from  the  nation  ? 


82  THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION. 

uses  his  powers  without  the  interference  of  another  man. 
It  differs  from  freedom  in  the  circumstance  of  amount. 
Freedom  appears  to  signify  the  absolute  condition  in 
which  interference  by  human  will  is  altogether  removed ; 
in  which  case  there  would  be  a  perfect  equality  of  politi- 
cal rights,  and  the  law  would  recognize  no  difference 
whatever  between  the  individuals  of  whom  a  state  was 
composed.  Liberty,  on  the  contrary,  appears  capable  of 
indefinite  variation,  from  the  smallest  amount  that  the 
most  oppressed  slave  has,  to  the  utmost  and  most  perfect 
amount,  which  then  becomes  freedom.* 

Licentiousness  is  compatible  with  liberty,  but  not  with 
freedom.  For  instance,  a  slaveholder  has  far  too  much 
liberty — that  is,  he  is  at  liberty  to  perform  acts  of  licen- 
tiousness ;  but  where  there  is  freedom,  there  can  be  no 
surplus  liberty  ;  for  the  moment  the  equilibrium  of  equity 
is  disturbed  by  the  licentious  exercise  of  power,  that 
moment  freedom  has  vanished  and  liberty  becomes  rela- 
tive. One  man  then  comes  to  have  too  much  liberty,  and 
another  man  too  little. 

The  powers  of  man  involved  in  the  general  term 
liberty,  are  the  powers  of  feeling,  thinking,  speaking, 
writing  and  publishing,  and  acting.  The  sum  total  of 
these  is  implicated  in  the  fact  of  life;  so  that,  if  the  life 
be  taken  away,  the  whole  of  the  powers  are  taken  away. 
Politically  speaking,  therefore,  to  take  away  life  is  to 
take  away  the  sum  total  of  liberty,  and  to  destroy  or 
obliterate  a  free  agent. 

Liberty,  in  its  most  extensive  signification,  involves  the 
whole  powers  or  conditions  of  men  which  can  be  affected 
by  the  agency  of  other  men ;  but  liberty  has  also  a  more 

*  Such,  at  all  events,  would  seem  to  be  the  sense  usually  affixed  to  the 
two  terms.  But,  in  that  case,  the  word  freedom  would  advantageously 
supplant  liberty  in  several  passages  of  the  New  Testament,  such  as  Rom. 
viii.  21  ;  2  Cor.  iii.  17  ;  Gal.  ii.  4,  v.  1,  13,  etc.,  where  absolute  freedom,  or 
emancipation,  seems  to  be  spoken  of. 


THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION.  33 

restricted  signification,  which  confines  it  to  liberty  of 
thought,  speech,  publication,  and  action.  In  the  former 
sense,  life  is  involved  in  liberty ;  in  the  latter  sense,  life 
assumes  a  separate  standing,  and  becomes  a  category  by 
itself.  And  again,  the  moral  feelings  may  be  interfered 
with  by  slander  or  defamation;  and  this  gives  rise  to 
another  category  of  politics,  namely,  reputation. 

Life,  liberty,  property,  and  reputation,  are  then  viewed 
as  the  possessions  of  men ;  and  the  laws  which  should 
regulate  men  in  their  mutual  action  on  each  other,  with 
regard  to  life,  liberty,  property,  arid  reputation,  have  to 
be  determined  by  political  science. 

With  regard  to  life,  we  do  not  believe  that  any  principle 
whatever  can  be  found  in  natural  knowledge  that  would 
justify  the  taking  away  of  life,  save  in  defence  of  self  or 
others.  For  life,  therefore,  there  can  only  be  a  negative 
theory  of  very  limited  extent.  All  that  can  be  said  on 
the  subject  must  necessarily  resolve  itself  into  one  or 
two  propositions.  Laws  may  take  lives,  but  laws  cannot 
create  axioms  of  the  reason;  and  without  these  there 
can  be  no  principle  to  determine  otherwise  than  supersti- 
tiously  when  a  life  ought  to  be  taken.  That  the  laws  by 
which  lives  have  been  taken  away  have  been  only  formal 
superstitions,  is  plainly  evident  from  the  changes  which 
the  laws  have  undergone.  The  laws  had  no  other  basis 
than  vague  opinion,  directed  by  human  passion  ;  and  the 
day  appears  to  be  not  far  distant  when  capital  punishment 
will  be  either  abolished  altogether,  or  confined  to  the  case 
of  the  murderer,  if  it  be  determined  that  Scripture  com- 
mands or  implies  the  execution  of  him  who  has  taken 
away  the  life  of  his  fellow. 

The  genuine  essence  of  all  liberty  is  non-interference, 
and  to  secure  universal  non-interference  is  the  first  and 
most  essential  end  of  all  political  association. 

But  interference  may  be  from  the  government  and  law, 
quite  as  much  as  from  the  individual,  and  interference  by 
3 


34          THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION. 

law  is  incomparably  more  prejudicial  to  a  community 
than  any  amount  of  casual  interference  that  would  be 
likely  to  take  place  in  a  civilized  country. 


SECTION  II. — ON  THE  MODE  IN  WHICH  MEN  HAVE   MAI)]-: 
LAWS. 

Liberty  presents  itself  under  the  form  of  liberty  of 
thought,  liberty  of  speech,  liberty  of  publication,  and 
liberty  of  action;  and  political  liberty  evolves  chronolog- 
ically in  the  order  of  thought,  speech,  publication,  and 
action.  To  secure  this  liberty  by  law,  and  to  make  it 
exactly  equal  for  all  individuals  in  the  eye  of  the  law,  is 
the  great  end  of  political  civilization. 

Thought  is  now  (in  Britain)  almost  emancipated  from 
state  interference,  although  the  time  was,  and  not  so  very 
long  since,  when  men  attempted  to  control  each  other  in 
their  thoughts.  Religious  superstition  has  ever  played 
the  most  prominent  part  in  this  species  of  interference, 
and  the  priest  of  bygone  days  was  the  licentious  tyrant 
of  the  mind,  who  would  have  forced  uncredited  conviction 
by  the  fagot  and  the  flame.  Not  only  was  freedom  of 
speech  controlled,  and  punished  by  the  rack,  the  dungeon, 
and  the  lingering  death  of  infamy,  but  the  very  thoughts 
were  scrutinized ;  and  unless  a  man  renounced  his  creed, 
he  was  tortured  by  the  ruthless  arm  of  power,  and  carried 
to  the  stake  as  the  living  offering  of  bigotry  to  the  demon 
of  superstition. 

Feeling  is  not  under  man's  control,  and  therefore  they 
have  allowed  each  other  to  escape  from  profession  upon 
that  subject,  at  the  same  time  taking  advantage  of  the 
nerves  for  the  infliction  of  as  much  pain  as  man  could 
reasonably  devise.  What  is  technically  called  torture 
(in  the  art  of  inflicting  pain)  is  also  abolished,  and  some 
obscure  principle  of  retribution  is  now  substituted,  which 
sometimes  shuts  a  man  up  in  a  prison,  sometimes  trans- 


THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGEESSION.  35 

ports  him  to  the  southern  hemisphere,  sometimes  fines 
him  a  sum  of  money,  and  sometimes  allows  him  to  escape 
altogether,  because  the  legal  punishment  is  felt  to  be 
clisproportioned  to  the  crime. 

Speech  is  still,  and  properly  enough,  made  a  matter 
of  superintendence.  A  man  may  injure  another  by  his 
speech,  and  consequently  speech  does  come  within  the 
limits  of  politics.  Immense  changes,  however,  have 
taken  pl^ce  in  the  laws  that  relate  to  the  expression  of 
thought,  more  especially  on  political  subjects.  Freedom 
of  speech,  and  of  public  speech,  and  in  any  number  of 
speakers  or  auditors,  is  one  of  the  first  essentials  of  true 
liberty.  Wherever  it  is  not  enjoyed,  liberty  is  a  shadow 
and  tyranny  is  a  substance.  France  has  yet  to  learn  this 
essential  lesson  of  liberty,  and  until  the  French  either 
obtain  or  take  the  freedom  of  speech  that  they  have  not 
now,  and  never  have  had,  they  must  be  in  a  state  of 
political  subserviency  to  the  executive  power,  that  should 
make  a  nation  blush  with  shame,  where  so  many  culti- 
vated men  have  turned  their  attention  to  the  public 
affairs  of  the  state.  That  France  should  submit  to  re- 
striction on  public  discussion,  is  one  of  the  best  evidences 
that  something  more  than  revolution  is  required  to  make 
a  people  free. 

Freedom  of  discussion  is  the  great  turning-point  of 
liberty,  the  first  great  field  of  battle  between  the  nation 
and  the  rulers.  If  the  nation  gain  the  day,  its  progress 
is  onward  towards  freedom ;  but  if  the  rulers  gain  the 
day,  the  nation  must  submit  to  tyranny,  and  must  groan 
under  the  licentious  hand  of  a  self-constituted  govern- 
ment. So  soon  as  freedom  of  speech  is  prevented,  no 
other  resource  than  revolution  can  possibly  remain,  and 
the  men  who  might  not  speak  with  tongues  must  have 
recourse  to  weapons  of  more  powerful  argument.  Where 
there  is  freedom  of  discussion,  there  is  always  hope  for 
the  nation.  The  government  may  enforce  its  privileges 


86  TI1E  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION. 

for  a  time ;  but  so  certainly  as  freedom  of  discussion  is 
preserved,  so  certainly  must  those  privileges  be  curtailed, 
one  after  another,  and  freedom  of  action  must  eventually 
complete  the  evolution. 

Writing  and  publication  are  as  essential  as  speech. 
The  censorship  is  an  abomination  altogether  incompatible 
with  freedom,  and  every  country  that  tolerates  it  must 
lay  its  account,  not  for  the  reformation  of  reason,  but  for 
the  revolution  of  violence — not  for  change  effected  by 
the  intellect  of  the  country,  but  for  change  effected  by 
the  explosion  of  pent-up  passions  seeking  to  destroy 
rather  than  to  reconstruct. 

England  has  almost  achieved  her  emancipation  in  the 
matter  of  thought,  speech,  and  writing;  but  very  con- 
siderable changes  still  remain  to  be  effected  before  liberty 
of  action  can  be  said  to  be  achieved.  There  are  actions 
which  are  naturally  crimes,  and  which  never  can  be  any- 
thing else  than  crimes — robbery  and  murder,  for  instance. 
Such  actions  are  criminal  anterior  to  all  legislation,  and 
independently  of  any  human  enactment  whatever.  They 
are  unjust  from  their  nature,  and  we  can  predicate,  d, 
priori,  that  they  are  unjust,  as  well  as  prove,  a  posteriori, 
by  their  effects  that  they  are  eminently  prejudicial. 

Such  actions,  and  such  actions  alone,  is  the  govern- 
ment of  a  country  competent  to  prohibit,  and  to  class  as 
crimes.  But  let  us  observe  what  takes  place  in  actual 
legislation.  No  action  can  be  less  criminal  than  the 
purchase  of  the  productions  of  one  country,  and  the 
transport  of  those  productions  to  another  country,  for 
the  legitimate  profit  of  the  trader  and  the  convenience  of 
the  inhabitants.  The  government,  however,  passes  a 
law  that  such  transport  shall  not  be  allowed,  and  that 
the  man  who  still  persists  in  it  shall  be  called  a  criminal, 
and  treated  as  such.  The  government  thus  creates  a 
new  crime,  and  establishes  an  artificial  standard  of 
morality,  one  of  the  most  pernicious  things  for  a  com- 


THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION.  37 

munity  that  can  possibly  exist,  as  it  leads  men  to  con- 
clude that  acts  are  wrong  only  because  they  are  for- 
bidden, and  also  enlists  in  favor  of  the  offender  those 
feelings  which  ought  ever  to  be  retained  in  favor  of  the 
law. 

The  restriction  would  be  a  crime  if  it  were  only  a 
restriction,  and  prevented  the  international  exchange  of 
produce.  But  what  are  its  effects?  It  calls  into  ex- 
istence a  set  of  men  who  devote  themselves  by  profession 
to  infringe  the  law.  The  actvof  transport  is  perfectly  in- 
nocent and  highly  beneficial ;  but  so  soon  as  it  is  pro- 
hibited by  law,  the  man  who  engages  in  it  is  obliged  to 
use  the  arts  of  deception  and  concealment,  and  from  one 
step  of  small  depravity  to  another,  sinks  lower  and  lower, 
until  at  last  he  employs  violence,  and  does  not  hesitate  to 
murder.  The  act  of  transport  in  which  the  smuggler  is  en- 
gaged is  one  of  the  most  legitimate  modes  of  exercising 
the  human  powers.  Every  kind  of  advantage  attends  it. 
First,  it  is  profitable  to  the  foreign  seller. .  Second,  it  is 
profitable  to  the  merchant.  Third,  it  is  profitable  to  the 
carrier.  Fourth,  it  is  profitable  to  the  home  consumer ;  for 
if  the  goods  were  not  more  highly  esteemed  by  him  than 
the  money,  he  would  not  purchase  fhem  at  the  price.  And 
fifth,  it  is  injurious  to  no  one.  The  first  three  profits  are 
money  profits ;  the  fourth,  the  profit  of  convenience  and 
gratification.  But  the  moral  effects  are  no  less  beneficial. 
First,  the  man  who  is  engaged  in  lawful  trading  is  well 
employed,  and  likely  to  be  a  peaceful  and  good  citizen. 
Second,  the  fact  of  purchasing  from  a  foreigner  gives  the 
trader  an  interest  in  that  foreigner,  and  eminently  tends 
to  break  down  those  national  antipathies  which  have  de- 
scended from  the  darker  ages.  The  buyer  and  the  seller 
are  a  step  further  from  war  every  bargain  they  conclude 
in  honest  dealing;  and  the  iniquitous  doctrine,  that  a 
"  Frenchman  is  the  natural  enemy  of  an  Englishman," 
must  every  day  find  its  practical  refutation  in  the  sub- 


38  TIIE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION. 

stantial  benefits  of  trade.  First,  then,  the  prohibitory 
law  sacrifices  all  these  benefits,  and  the  law  of  restriction 
diminishes  them  to  the  full  extent  of  its  restriction.  But 
what  takes  place?  The  contraband  trader  is  created  by 
the  prospect  of  gain  arising  from  the  increase  of  price. 
This  increase  of  price,  instead  of  being  a  benefit  to  the 
legal  trader,  is  his  curse.  It  is  neither  more  nor  less 
than  a  premium  held  out  to  the  smuggler  to  evade  the 
custom  and  to  undersell  the  legal  trader,  thereby  tend- 
ing constantly  to  reduce  his  profit,  as  well  as  to  diminish 
his  sale.  But  this  is  not  all.  It  is  a  premium  to  the 
reckless  to  break  the  law ;  and  the  man  who  lives  in  the 
habitual  breach  of  the  law  soon  becomes  a  ruined  char- 
acter and  a  ruined  man. 

There  are,  perhaps,  few  courses  of  life  that  end  so 
certainly  in  ruin  as  the  smuggler's  and  the  poacher's ; 
and  yet,  barring  the  law,  the  acts  in  which  they  are 
engaged  are  perfectly  innocent  and  perfectly  legitimate. 
The  man  who  takes  to  smuggling  or  to  poaching  as  the 
means  of  gaining  his  bread,  is  almost  as  certainly  beyond 
recovery  as  the  drunkard  or  the  thief.  It  has  been  our 
lot  to  see  some  of  these  characters,  and  to  observe  the 
influence  of  their  pursuits,  and  we  can  say  no  otherwise 
than  that  we  have  been  shocked  to  see  men  of  energy  and 
great  natural  endowment  destroyed  by  the  temptations 
which  the  law  had  so  superfluously  placed  in  their  way. 
When  once  the  habit  of  breaking  the  law  is  established, 
the  distinction  is  overlooked  that  would  not  otherwise 
have  been  forgotten,  namely,  that  there  is  a  right  and  a 
wrong  independently  of  the  law ;  and  the  man  who  com- 
menced by  shooting  a  hare  in  his  cabbage-plot  finishes  by 
shooting  a  keeper,  and  expiating  the  offence  on  the 
gallows. 

We  do  not  mean  that  a  man  has  a  right  to  shoot  every- 
where and  anywhere,  but  we  mean  that  the  act  of  shoot- 
ing the  game,  the  legal  crime,  is  not  a  crime,  and  never 


THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION.  39 

can  be  such ;  and  that  the  consequences  are  in  a  great 
measure  the  fruits  of  the  law,  and  must  be  charged 
against  it.* 

Let  us  take  another  case.  The  Creator,  in  his  bounty, 
has  distributed  rivers  over  our  country  ;  and  the  rivers  of 
Scotland,  at  a  certain  season,  teem  (or  did  te*em  till  the 
sea  nets  were  established)  with  abundance  of  food  in  the 
shape  of  salmon,  which  are  thus  brought,  as  it  were,  to 
the  very  door  of  the  inhabitants.  The  uncultivated 
moors  of  the  same  district  abound  with  wild  birds,  to  an 
extent  perhaps  unequalled  in  the  world.  It  might  be 
supposed  reasonable  that  these  gifts  of  Providence  should 
be  of  some  service  to  the  stated  inhabitants  who  labor; 
and  as  corn  land  is  not  so  plentiful  in  the  north  as  in  the 
south,  Providence  appears  to  have  thrown  the  salmon  and 
the  grouse  into  the  scale  to  furnish  the  necessary  food  for 
man.  But  what  has  the  law  done  ?  To  shoot  a  grouse  is 
not  merely  a  trespass  on  the  occupier  of  the  land,  but  a 
crime,  a  criminal  act,  a  thing  that  must  be  punished,  a 
deed  for  which  the  half-starved  Highlander  can  be  haled 
to  prison,  and  shut  up  as  an  offender  against  the  laws  of 
his  country,  when  that  country  had  reduced  him  to  the 
verge  of  starvation.  And  to  spear  a  salmon,  a  fish  from 
the  sea  that  no  man  may  ever  have  seen,  and  cannot 
possibly  recognize,  is  also  attended  with  pains  and 
penalties  for  killing  the  fish  that  Heaven  had  sent  for 
food. 

Let  us  consider  that  Providence  has  made  some  animals 
susceptible  of  domestication.  A  man  takes  the  trouble  of 
rearing  a  lamb  or  a  bullock ;  and  by  every  principle  of 
equity  they  are  his — at  least  he  has  the  claim  of  prefer- 
ence, which  no  other  man  has  a  right  to  invade.  Were 
any  man  to  take  this  sheep  or  ox  for  his  own  use,  we  see 

*  Since  the  above  was  written,  some  partial  changes  have  been  made 
with  regard  to  hares,  preparatory,  we  hope,  to  the  total  abolition  of  all 
game  laws  whatever. 


40  THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION. 

at  once  the  impropriety  of  the  action.  First,  it  is  an  inter- 
ference with  another  man  without  a  justifying  reason ; 
and  second,  were  such  interference  allowed  generally,  the 
domesticatio.ii  of  animals  would  cease,  and  food  would 
become  so  much  the  less  abundant. 

In  this  Case  there  is  a  breach  of  equity  involved,  and 
the  taking  is  a  crime.  But,  on  the  other  hand,  Providence 
has  made  other  animals  incapable  of  domestication,  and 
distributed  them  over  the  country,  apparently  for  the 
very  purpose  of  affording  food,  and  this  in  the  very 
districts  that  are  not  so  highly  favored  with  the  cereal 
productions  of  the  soil.  Such,  in  Scotland,  are  the  salmon 
and  the  grouse ;  and  these,  at  one  period,  were  so  abun- 
dant as  to  afford  a  staple  article  of  food,  and  even  now  are 
sufficiently  numerous  to  feed  a  large  portion  of  the  popu- 
lation from  August  to  December.  And  what  has  the  law 
done  with  regard  to  these  bountiful  gifts  of  Providence  ? 
The  law  has  made  it  a  crime  for  the  poor  man  to  touch 
them.  The  poor  man  now  can  never  legally  have  either 
a  salmon  or  a  grouse ;  and  in  the  very  parishes  where 
those  animals  are  sufficiently  numerous  to  feed  the  whole 
resident  pauper  population,  the  poor  may  take  their 
choice  between  starvation  and  expatriation. 

Now,  in  the  case  of  the  animals  that  are  not  capable  of 
domestication,  there  is  an  important  distinction  to  be  ob- 
served. To  shoot  one  of  these  animals  is  not  a  breach  of 
equity — that  is,  the  wild  one  is  no  man's  property,  while 
the  domesticated  one  must  practically  be  regarded  as 
such ;  and  therefore,  as  the  wild  animals  could  not  be 
regarded  as  property — for  property  must  be  recognizable 
—the  law  has  made  it  a  crime  for  the  poor  man  to  take 
them  for  his  use.  And  the  privileged  classes,  not  con- 
tent with  all  the  land,  and  nearly  all  the  offices  of  the 
state,  have  usurped  the  fowls  of  the  air,  and  the  fish  of 
the  sea,  that  never  owned  a  master  save  the  Lord  of 
heaven'  and  earth. 


THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION.  41 

It  may  be  considered  th.it  the  question  is  of  no  great 
importance ;  neither  perhaps  is  it,  compared  with  the 
weightier  question  of  the  land ;  but  we  have  taken  it  as 
an  illustration  (the  first  that  happened  to  occur)  of  the 
principle  of  legislation  as  regards  action.  As  regards 
action  England  is  not  a  free  country,  and  the  sooner  the 
nation  is  convinced  of  the  fact,  the  better  for  the  com- 
munity. And  by  free  country,  we  mean  a  country  in 
which  every  man  has  a  legal  right  to  do  everything  that 
is  not  naturally  a  crime.  Where  a  man  can  do  what  is 
a  crime,  freedom  is  no  more.  But  the  law  may  be  the 
criminal  as  well  as  the  nation ;  and  injustice  from  the 
law  is  quite  as  unjust,  and  ten  times  more  detrimental, 
than  injustice  from  the  individual. 

With  regard  to  the  crime,  the  real  criminality  of  the 
action,  measured  either  by  reason  or  by  Scripture,  and 
with  regard  to  the  detriment,  measured  by  the  conse- 
quences, let  us  ask  the  following  question,  and  let  any 
man  answer  it  on  his  conscience : — Here  are  animals  pro- 
vided by  nature  in  abundance — they  cannot  follow  even 
the  laws  of  property  established  in  all  analogous  cases, 
inasmuch  as  they  are  not  recognizable,  and  cannot  be 
claimed  as  ever  having  been  in  possession.  These  ani- 
mals are  distributed  widely,  and  spread  throughout  the 
country  in  a  manner  to  afford  a  convenient  supply  to 
the  various  districts.  The  fish  arrive  from  the  sea  in 
their  highest  condition,  and  afford  good  and  wholesome 
food.  The  birds  are  of  the  poultry  kind,  distinguished 
for  the  quality  and  quantity  of  their  flesh,  and  for 
their  powers  of  reproduction, — characters  that  have  al- 
ways drawn  a  line  of  demarcation  between  them  and 
the  birds  of  prey,  and  pointed  them  out  for  food. 
These  animals  are  distributed  by  nature  throughout 
the  habitable  districts  where  cultivation  must  be  limited, 
and  where  animal  food  must  be  required,  both  from  the 
scarcity  of  corn  and  from  the  nature  of  the  climate. 


42  THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION. 

Such,  at  least,  is  the  judgment  of  Providence,  as  mani- 
fested in  the  works  of  creation,  and  in  the  harmony 
which  is  every  where  perceptible  between  the  productions 
of  a  region  and  their  suitability  to  man.  These  districts 
(from  the  monopoly  of  the  land)  are  now  inhabited  by  a 
race  reduced  to  the  lowest  state  of  poverty,  and  in  many 
cases  to  a  degradation  that  would  class  them  with  the 
savages.  Let  us  ask,  which  is  the  crime  ?  That  these 
people  should  take  the  animals  which  nature  has  provided, 
or  that  the  privileged  classes  of  the  country  should  pass 
a  law  to  prevent  their  touching  a  single  one  of  them, 
under  the  pain  of  fine  and  imprisonment.  And  be  it  re- 
marked, these  animals  are  not  property,  even  by  the 
wording  of  the  enactment,  which  does  not  punish  for  in- 
terference with  property,  but  for  interference  with  ani- 
mals, which  the  privileged  classes  wish  to  monopolize  for 
other  purposes.  Hundreds  of  tons  of  fish,  and  thousands 
of  boxes  of  birds,  are  annually  taken  away  for  sale  from 
these  districts,  and  yet  not  one  of  the  poor  of  the  inhab- 
itants may  touch  a  feather,  nor  finger  a  scale,  without 
being  guilty  of  a  crime ;  and  from  one  year's  end  to  the 
other,  the  mass  of  the  population  have  not  the  legal  right 
to  take  one  single  meal  from  a  bird  without  danger  of 
imprisonment,  nor  from  a  fish  without  danger  of  a  fine. 
Is  it  a  crime,  or  is  it  not,  that  the  privileged  classes 
should  pass  such  a  law?  And  is  it  a  crime,  or  is  it  not 
that  the  nation  should  allow  such  laws,  and  such  privileged 
classes,  to  continue  ? 

Again,  the  manufacturers  of  certain  articles,  who  are 
certainly  not  guilty  of  crime,  or  even  of  the  shadow  of 
offence,  are  not  allowed  to  carry  on  the  necessary  oper- 
ations except  under  the  lock  and  key  of  the  state  officials ; 
and  the  regulations  are  of  so  stringent  a  character,  that  if 
they  were  not  partially  relaxed  by  the  exciseman,  the 
business  could  scarcely  be  carried  on  without  incurring 
penalties  from  the  law. 


THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION.  43 

The  soap  manufacturer  is  certainly  engaged  in  the  pro- 
duction of  an  article  that  benefits  the  community ;  and 
even  the  distiller  (for  whom  as  much  cannot  be  said)  is 
entitled  to  carry  on  his  business  on  the  same  footing  as 
every  other  man.  The  legislators  make  a  pretext  of 
revenue;  and  revenue  of  course  is  necessary,  although 
not  to  the  extent  to  which  revenue  is  raised  in  Britain. 
But  when  the  necessity  of  revenue  is  granted,  is  it  at  all 
necessary  that  the  man  who  is  engaged  in  the  lawful 
manufacture  of  an  article  required  by  the  community, 
should  be  obliged  to  give  notice  to  a  state  official  that  he 
is  about  to  perform  this,  that,  and  the  other  process  of  his 
manufacture,  and  be  esteemed  a  criminal  worthy  of  pun- 
ishment if  that  notice  is  forgotten  or  neglected  ? 

All  these  restrictions  are  the  remnants  of  the  more  ex- 
clusive privileges  claimed  and  enforced  by  the  privileged 
classes  of  other  times,  and  the  remnants  of  that  political 
superstition  which,  next  to  religious  superstition,  every 
man  ought  to  lend  his  aid  to  destroy. 

The  pretext  that  revenue  is  necessary,  is  one  that  would 
scarcely  be  entitled  to  attention,  were  it  not  accompanied 
by  the  injustice  and  detriment  that  follow  in  its  train. 
Revenue,  so  far  as  necessary  for  the  actual  requirements 
of  a  state,  need  form  a  very  trifling  portion  of  a  nation's 
expenditure.  The  whole  cost  of  the  administration  of 
justice,  and  of  every  other  valuable  service  that  the  state 
really  requires,  is  a  mere  trifle  in  comparison  to  the  actual 
revenue,  and  to  the  still  greater  cost  occasioned  by  the 
enactments  of  the  legislature.  But  as  revenue  may  be 
derived  from  two  sources,  the  privileged  classes  have 
taken  care  that  it  shall  be  derived  from  that  source  in 
which  they  are  not  so  immediately  interested. 

We  have  spoken  of  the  liberty  of  human  action ;  and 
one  of  the  forms  of  that  action  is  labor.  The  material 
objects  of  the  creation  possess  a  value  of  exchange ;  that 
is,  people  are  willing  to  pay  for  them.  But  labor  also 


*4  THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION. 

possesses  a  value  of  exchange,  and  people  are  willing  to 
pay  for  it  as  well  as  for  the  material  objects  that  consti- 
tute the  globe  and  its  inhabitants.  Let  it  be  observed 
that  labor  is  essentially  private  property.  It  has  a  value, 
and  the  land  has  no  more  than  a  value. 

Let  it  also  be  observed  that  the  land  is  not  essentially 
private  property,  and  that  naturally  one  man  has  as  much 
right  to  the  land  as  another. 

Labor  on  the  one  hand,  and  land  on  the  other,  are  sus- 
ceptible of  taxation. 

The  privileged  classes,  in  the  earlier  stages  of  society, 
had  all  the  land  and  all  the  labor.  The  lord  was  the 
lord  not  only  of  the  land,  but  of  the  labor  of  those  who 
were  engaged  in  the  useful  arts  of  industry.  In  the  course 
of  time  the  serfs  obtained  a  small  portion  of  their  rights, 
and  towns  were  formed  where  the  citizens  could  carry  on 
their  labor  with  a  certain  degree  of  advantage  to  them- 
selves, and  with  a  certain  degree  of  emancipation  from  the 
licentious  will  of  the  lord.  Taxation  could  consequently 
be  on  the  land  of  the  lord,  or  on  the  labor  of  the  towns- 
man, for  all  the  townsman's  capital  was  originally  the 
produce  of  his  labor. 

If  we  consider  the  various  states  of  Europe,  from  Rus- 
sia to  England,  we  shall  find  the  lord  and  the  laborer  to 
occupy  various  stages  of  the  political  scale  of  evolution, 
by  which  the  laborer  at  last  succeeds  in  withdrawing  his 
industry  from  the  interference  of  the  lord,  and  from  the 
taxation  of  the  state. 

Let  it  be  observed,  that  when  the  land  is  taxed,  no  man 
is  taxed;  for  the  land  produces,  according  to  the  law  of 
the  Creator,  more  than  the  value  of  the  labor  expended  on 
it,  and  on  this  account  men  are  willing  to  pay  a  rent  for 
land.  But  when  the  privileged  classes  had  monopolized 
the  land,  they  called  it  theirs  in  the  same  sense  in  which 
labor  is  supposed  to  belong  to  the  laborer ;  and,  although 
the  absurdity  of  the  proposition  is  sufficiently  apparent, 


THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION.  45 

the  laborer  was  glad  enough  to  escape  with  even  a  small 
portion  of  his  liberty,  and  to  rejoice  that  he  could  call  his 
life  and  his  family  his  own. 

But  then  the  lords  of  the  land  were  the  rulers  and  the 
makers  of  the  laws,  and  the  imposers  of  taxation,  and  it 
was  not  reasonable  to  suppose  that  they  should  tax  the 
land.  The  king  required  money,  and  various  persons 
about  kings  in  all  ages  require  money,  and  of.  course  the 
only  choice  in  the  matter  of  taxation  is  between  labor  and 
the  land. 

To  tax  labor,  then,  becomes  a  matter  of  the  most  pal- 
pable necessity,  and  those  who  have  been  divested  of  al- 
most every  single  particle  of  earth  or  sea  that  could  be  of 
any  benefit  to  them,  must  also  be  made  to  bear  the  bur- 
dens of  the  state,  and  to  pay  for  the  support  of  a  govern- 
ment that  was  of  little  use  to  the  community,  and  that 
only  existed  by  the  right  of  the  strongest,  or  the  consent 
of  superstition.* 

The  principle  of  taxing  labor  is  only  a  remnant  of  the 
serfdom  of  the  darker  ages,  and  it  has  been  continued  in 
this  country  by  the  ingenious  device  of  what  are  termed 

*  Immediately  a  bad  government  is  of  no  use  to  the  community,  but 
mediately  and  prospectively  the  most  stringent  despotism  in  the  world  is 
of  the  highest  importance  and  of  the  greatest  value.  Man  must  appar- 
ently progress  through  centralization  ;  and  a  bad  government,  provided 
it  centralizes,  is  the  foundation  of  after  changes  most  beneficial  to  man- 
kind. The  good  part  of  the  Russian  government  is  its  centralization.- 
and,  notwithstanding  the  antipathy  manifested  against  that  government, 
wo  have  little  hesitation  in  maintaining,  that  on  the  whole  it  is  doing  good 
to  the  population  under  its  rule.  It  is  gradually  subjecting  .savage  tribes 
to  the  ordinary  course  of  homogeneous  law  ;  and,  though  the  laws  are 
bad,  and  the  administration  worse,  the  phusi!  is  one  which  the  nomadic 
trilx?s  and  the  semi-barbarous  population  must  pass  through  before  they 
arrive  at  political  freedom.  In  the  general  history  of  man,  it  seems  re- 
quisite that  central  monarchy  should  destroy  the  privileges  of  multiple, 
aristocracy  ;  and  Russia  is  gradually  effecting  this  great  change.  The 
sympathy  manifested  towards  the  Poles  is  questionable,  inasmuch  as  the 
great  majority  of  Poles  were  ruled  by  individual  aristocrats  instead  of  by- 
laws. 


46  THE  THEORY  OF  HUM  A. \  PBOGRE38IOJT, 

indirect  taxes,  by  which  labor  is  taxed,  although  the  la- 
borer is  only  made  acquainted  with  the  fact  by  the  distress 
that  periodically  oppresses  him. 

The  man  who  is  poisoned  without  his  knowledge  does 
not  die  the  less  certainly  for  his  ignorance,  and  the  peo- 
ple who  are  taxed  do  not  suffer  the  less  because  the  taxes 
happen  to  be  imposed  in  such  a  manner  that  the  unthink- 
ing and  the  ignorant  do  not  perceive  those  taxes  in  the 
price  they  pay  for  almost  every  article  of  consumption. 
All  the  real  harm  is  done  to  a  country  as  effectually  by 
indirect  taxation,  as  if  every  penny  were  paid  out  of  the 
day's  wages  to  the  tax-gatherer  of  the  state.  But  the 
rulers  know  full  well  that  if  the  tax-gatherer  were  to  pre- 
sent himself  at  the  pay -table  of  the  laborer,  at  the  counter 
of  the  shopman,  at  the  office  of  the  merchant,  and  at  the 
ship  of  the  seafaring  carrier,  the  doom  of  labor  taxation 
would  be  sealed,  and  the  country  would  not  tolerate  so 
glaring  an  injustice.  And  the  indirect  system  of  taxation 
is  employed,  not  that  it  prevents  the  community  from  suf- 
fering, but  that  it  prevents  the  community  from  dwelling 
on  the  cause  of  their  suffering,  and  thereby  retards  a  rev- 
olution against  the  privileged  classes. 

Such  are  the  circumstances  that  have  led  to  the  estab- 
lishment of  customs  and  excise ;  and  the  total  and  com- 
plete abolition  of  those  two  branches  of  interference  is  one 
of  the  necessary  changes  that  must  take  place  before  this 
country  can  be  free  and  before  this  country  can  enjoy  that 
commercial  liberty,  without  which  a  periodical  crisis  must 
necessarily  be  the  lot  of  the  laborer,  the  merchant,  and  the 
manufacturer.*  It  is  true  that  the  total  abolition  of  the 

*  "  Simultaneously  with  the  relaxation  of  the  restrictive  policy  of  the 
United  States,  Great  Britain,  from  whose  example  we  derive  the  system, 
has  n-laxed  hers.  She  has  modified  her  corn-laws,  and  reduced  many 
other  duties  to  moderate  revenue  rates.  After  ages  of  experience,  the 
statesmen  of  that  country  have  been  constrained  by  stern  necessity,  and 
by  a  public  opinion  having  its  deep  foundation  in  the  sufferings  and  wants 
of  impoverished  millions,  to  abandon  a  system,  the  effect  of  which  was  to 


THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION.  47 

customs  appears  chimerical  at  present ;  yet,  if  we  consider 
the  history  of  the  changes  that  have  already  taken  place, 
and  seize  their  abstract  form  (the  only  form  that  contains 
real  instruction),  we  have  sufficient  ground  to  hope,  not 
only  for  the  abolition  of  every  species  of  tax  upon  labor, 
but  for  the  recovery  of  each  man's  natural  property.  So 
certainly  as  this  country  continues  to  progress,  so  cer- 
tainly must  every  restraint  be  removed  from  every  action 
that  is  not  a  crime ;  and  the  customs'  laws  can  no  more  be 
perpetuated,  if  the  present  liberty  of  discussion  con- 
tinues, than  restraints  upon  discussion  could  be  perpetu- 
ated after  men  had  learnt  to  think  for  themselves,  and 
to  form  their  convictions  according  to  the  evidence  before 
them. 

The  great  source  of  the  evil  that  weighs  so  heavily  on 
the  unprivileged  classes  of  society  is  to  be  found  in  the 
doctrine,  "  that  rulers  are  competent  to  legislate  for  every- 
thing and  for  anything." 

This  doctrine  appears  to  be  universally  adopted  in  states 
that  are  just  beginning  to  emerge  from  a  condition  of  bar- 
barism. Thoughts,  words,  and  actions  are  all  legislated 
for,  without  even  an  inquiry  into  the  right  of  the  ruler  to 
promulgate  a  law  upon  the  subject  of  his  enactment. 
The  right  is  assumed,  and  the  ruler  has  the  power  to  en- 
build  up  immense  fortunes  in  the  hands  of  the  few,  and  to  reduce  the 
laboring  millions  to  pauperism  and  misery.  Nearly  in  the  same  ratio  that 
labor  was  depressed,  capital  was  increased  and  concentrated  by  the 
British  protection  policy. 

"  The  evils  of  the  system  in  Great  Britain  were  at  length  rendered  in- 
tolerable, and  it  has  been  abandoned,  but  not  without  a  severe  struggle  on 
the  part  of  the  protected  and  favored  classes  to  retain  the  unjust  advan- 
1;iu,'fs  which  they  have  so  long  enjoyed.  It  was  by  the  same  classes  in  the 
United  States,  whenever  an  attempt  was  made  to  modify  or  abolish  the 
same  unjust  system  here.  The  protective  policy  had  been  in  operation 
in  the  United  States  for  a  much  shorter  period,  and  its  pernicious  effects 
were  therefore  not  so  clearly  perceived  and  felt.  Enough,  however,  was 
known  of  these  effects  to  induce  its  repeal." — President's  Message,  1846 
( United  States), 


48  THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION. 

force  the  law.  The  multitude,  who  are  obliged  to  devote 
their  attention  to  the  means  of  their  livelihood,  offer  a 
passive  acquiescence,  and  endeavor  to  carry  on  as  well  as 
they  can,  until  they  find  the  operation  of  the  law  so  prej- 
udicial that  they  can  bear  it  no  longer,  and  then  a  strug- 
gle ensues,  by  which  liberty  is  advanced  a  step :  and  the 
multitude  return  to  their  toils.  Jn  course  of  time,  how- 
ever, it  is  found  that  the  remaining  laws  are  as  prejudi- 
cial to  the  advanced  stage  of  society  as  those  which  were 
abolished  were  prejudicial  to  its  earlier  stage.  A  new 
struggle  ensues,  and  liberty  is  advanced  another  step. 
Knowledge  increases,  and  trade  increases,  and  still  it  is 
found  that  the  laws  are  so  prejudicial  that  they  must  be 
abolished.  This  process  goes  on  for  centuries ;  and  law 
after  law  is  repealed  because  the  actual  conditions  of  the 
people  can  permit  their  existence  no  longer.  In  this  pro- 
cess of  evolution,  we  perceive  laws  going  one  after  the 
other,  in  proportion  as  knowledge  increases;  but  it  is 
quite  evident  that  such  a  process  cannot  continue  indefi- 
nitely ;  and  it  becomes  an  interesting  question  to  inquire, 
how  it  happens  that  such  a  process  should  be  necessary, 
and  what  is  its  natural  termination  ? 

The  process  is  necessary,  because  legislators  had  over- 
stepped the  boundaries  of  legislation,  and  interfered  with 
matters  beyond  their  province.  Instead  of  confining 
themselves  to  the  prohibition  (or  rather  to  the  proclama- 
tion of  the  prohibition)  of  every  action  by  which  one  man 
injured  another  man,  they  legislated  for  men's  thoughts, 
and  enacted  laws  about  religion,  and  persecuted  by  law 
those  who  differed  from  the  sect  that  happened  to  be  in 
power. 

This  persecution,  a  few  centuries  since  in  England,  nnd 
not  a  century  since  in  Spain,  was  at  its  utmost  possible 
extreme ;  that  is,  men  inflicted  all  the  possible  pain  that 
they  could  on  their  fellow-creatures  of  a  different  creed,, 
and  finished  by  committing  them  to  the  flames. 


THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION.          49 

In  course  of  time,  however,  knowledge  increased,  and 
men  thought  it  scarcely  right  to  proceed  to  the  utmost 
possible  extreme ;  and  a  modification  of  the  auto  da  fe 
was  introduced  in  the  shape  of  imprisonment,  fine,  ban- 
ishment, etc.,  etc. 

The  Protestant  creed  introduced  a  very  important 
change  in  the  credence  of  the  country  in  this  matter  of 
religion. 

The  Romanists  always  professed  to  slaughter  men  to 
the  glory  of  God  ;  and  so  long  as  the  theological  propriety 
of  immolation  was  current  in  the  minds  of  men,  there  was 
little  chance  of  their  seeing  the  character  of  their  actions. 
The  Protestants,  on  the  contrary,  abandoned  the  high 
ground  of  sacrifice  to  the  Deity,  and  substituted  the  more 
rational  idea  of  sacrifice  to  the  King.  The  unfortunate 
Covenanter,  who  was  shot  or  decapitated,  was  not  an 
offering  to  the  Deity,  but  an  offering  to  the  King ;  and 
the  difference  was  of  immense  importance  to  the  country, 
although  of  no  particular  consequence  to  the  Covenanter. 
So  soon  as  persecution  (legislation  for  men's  thoughts) 
was  conceived  to  be  for  man,  and  not  for  God,  men  began 
to  inquire  whether,  after  all,  the  King  had  really  the  right 
to  legislate  to  such  an  extent.  And  as  knowledge  in- 
•creased,  they  began  to  relax  their  principles  a  little,  and 
to  think  that  the  deprivation  of  civil  privileges  would  be 
punishment  sufficient  for  the  offence  of  thinking  differ- 
ently from  the  sect  in  power. 

The  modification  still  goes  on,  and  measure  after  meas- 
ure is  abolished,  until  at  last  the  professors  of  different 
creeds  almost  begin  to  think  that  they  can  inhabit  the 
same  country  without  persecuting  each  other  on  account 
of  their  religion. 

Catholic  emancipation  was  one  of  the  insignificant 
measures  that  concluded  the  evolution  with  regard  to 
that  sect.  The  repeal  of  the  Test  and  Corporation  Act 
was  another  insignificant  measure  that  brought  up  the 


50  THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION. 

rear  of  a  system  of  persecution  that  bad  been  waxing 
weaker  and  weaker  for  a  century  or  two. 

Both  of  these  measures  were  bailed  as  the  glorious  evi- 
dences of  Britain's  impartiality,  and  certainly  the  meas- 
ures were  necessary  (if  freedom  be  necessary) ;  but,  after 
all,  they  were  no  more  in  comparison  to  the  measures 
that  had  preceded  them  than  the  nursery  tales  and  the 
popular  superstitions  are  to  the  gorgeous  pagan  credences 
from  which  they  had  their  birth. 

The  last  remnant  of  this  religious  superstition  that 
once  played  so  prominent  a  part  in  Britain,  is  now  to  be 
found  in  the  taxation  of  nonconformists  ;  and  the  church- 
rates,  and  the  official  distinction  between  the  various 
sects  are  the  last  representatives  of  that  system  of  legis- 
lation that  lit  the  fires  of  Smithfield,  and  sent  Claverhouse 
and  his  dragoons  to  murder  the  hill-side  peasant  and  to 
torture  the  differently  thinking  Presbyterian. 

But  what,  after  all,  is  the  principle  that  has  so  modified 
the  laws  of  Britain  ?  Whence  comes  it  that  men  should 
have  so  singularly  changed  their  opinions  in  the  course 
of  a  century  or  two  ? 

It  is  perfectly  evident  that  justice  does  not  vary  from 
age  to  age.  Justice  is  the  same  from  the  beginning  of  the 
world  to  the  time  that  man  shall  change  his  constitution. 

An  act  of  justice  can  no  more  alter  its  character  (with- 
out a  revelation)  than  the  diameter  of  the  circle  can  alter 
its  relation  to  the  circumference.  What  was  just  yester- 
day is  just  to-day,  was  just  a  thousand  years  ago,  and 
will  be  just  a  thousand  years  to  come. 

How  then  does  it  happen  that  so  strange  a  modification 
should  have  come  over  the  credence  of  our  race,  and  how 
does  it  happen  that  men  should  legislate  so  differently. 

The  credence  has  changed  with  the  acquisition  of  knowl- 
edge, and  the  legislation  has  changed  with  the  credence. 

Men  have  discovered  that  legislators  have  no  right  to 
legislate  for  credences,  and  thus  the  last  remnants  of 


THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION.  51 

such  legislation  are  obliged  to  appear  under  another 
name,  and  to  assume  a  false  guise  that  they  may  be  al- 
lowed to  continue  a  few  years  longer. 

Legislation,  with  regard  to  thought,  never  was  just,  and 
never  can  be  just ;  and  the  abstract  form  of  the  change 
is  nothing  more  than  that  the  legislators  have  so  far 
been  driven  off  a  ground  that  they  never  had  a  right  to 
occupy. 

For  the  man  animal,  food  is  the  first  necessity ;  but 
for  the  man  mental,  credence  according  to  evidence  is  the 
first  correct  law  of  his  intellectual  nature.  Food  is  one 
of  the  conditions  of  existence ;  and,  until  it  can  be  pro- 
cured in  tolerable  quantity,  and  with  some  degree  of  cer- 
tainty, a  community  cares  little  about  the  mind,  and  allows 
the  question  of  free  thought  to  remain  in  abeyance. 

When  {i  community  begins  to  emerge  from  barbarism, 
and  legislation  assumes  a  definite  form,  everything  is 
legislated  for.  Food,  thought,  speech,  action,  property, 
and  in  all  their  various  forms,  are  all  made  subject  of 
enactment ;  and  men  thus  endeavor  to  improve  the  world 
that  God  made,  by  passing  laws  to  amend  the  order  of 
nature.  The  first  necessity  for  the  community  is  to  have 
some  small  opportunity  of  procuring  food,  and  when  the 
necessary  conditions  are  obtained  (which  involve  some 
degree  of  liberty),  men  turned  their  attention  to  other 
subjects,  according  to  the  character  of  their  theological 
belief.  The  religious  impulses  of  our  nature  require 
satisfaction,  perhaps,  before  any  other  portion  of  the 
mental  constitution ;  and  as  men  must  have  some  kind  of 
theological  credence,  right  or  wrong,  they  believe  any- 
thing rather  than  remain  in  doubt.  And  as,  where  there 
is  no  evidence,  there  can  be  no  truth  and  no  error,  but 
mere  arbitrary  superstition,  the  state  has  generally 
established  some  form  of  credence  by  law,  and  committed 
the  care  of  the  superstition  to  the  priest.  But  there  does 
happen  to  be  a  true  religion  as  well  as  an  indefinite  num- 


52  THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION. 

ber  of  superstitions ;  and,  after  the  revival  of  learning, 
when  the  truth  began  to  break  on  men's  minds,  that 
religion  was  not  a  matter  of  mere  arbitrary  church  au- 
thority, but  a  real  matter  of  truth  and  falsehood,  in  which 
life  and  death  were  involved,  the  Christianity  of  the  Bible 
came  into  collision  with  the  established  superstitions  of 
the  Papal  priesthood,  and  a  struggle  was  commenced 
which  began  by  the  maximum  of  persecution,  and  ended, 
in  this  country  at  least,  in  the  maximum  of  liberty  of 
thought. 

But  it  is  not  one  single  shade  more  right  now  than 
it  was  two  or  five  hundred  years  since,  that  men  should 
think  and  believe  for  themselves  without  the  interference 
of  the  legislator.  The  legislator  never  had  a  particle  of 
right  to  interfere  in  matters  of  faith,  which  right  he  does 
not  possess  to  the  full  extent  in  the  present  day.  And  the 
real  essence  of  the  change  is  to  be  found,  not  in  the  altera- 
tion or  improvement  of  the  laws,  but  in  the  total  exclusion 
of  legislation  from  the  province  of  thought.  The  legis- 
lator was  altogether  out  of  his  sphere  ;  and  every  law  was 
necessarily  unjust  whether  mild,  moderate,  or  severe. 
No  matter  what  the  character  of  the  enactment  happened 
to  be,  it  was  an  injustice  and  a  licentious  invasion  of  the 
natural  rights  of  man ;  and  as  such,  the  only  question 
that  could  legitimately  be  taken  into  consideration  re- 
specting it  was  its  abolition. 

It  must  not  be  supposed,  however,  that  a  country  is  in 
the  same  circumstances  before  a  law  has  been  called  into 
existence,  and  after  its  abolition.  Before  the  law  is  en- 
acted men  are  naturally  free,  but  when  the  law  has  been 
abolished  men  are  legally  free.  A  country,  arrived  at 
complete  freedom  after  the  various  transformations  of 
superstition  and  injustice,  is  a  very  different  thing  from 
a  country  where  legislation  has  only  commenced.  The 
actual  laws  that  exist  in  both  cases  might  perhaps  be  the 
same  ;  but  in  the  one  case  they  are  the  stepping-stones  to 


THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION.  53 

an  indefinite  series  of  legislative  acts,  and  in  the  other 
case  they  are  the  permanent  records  of  a  nation's  final 
judgment.  England,  before  men  legislated  for  thoughts, 
and  England  after  men  have  legislated  for  thoughts,  and 
abolished  such  legislation,  is  in  very  different  circum- 
stances ;  inasmuch  as  it  may  now  be  reckoned  a  matter  of 
ascertained  truth,  that  legislation  for  matters  of  belief  is 
pre-eminently  prejudicial,  as  well  as  unjust.  And  the 
probability  of  new  legislation  on  the  subject  can  scarcely 
be  contemplated,  unless  some  very  unexpected  change 
take  place,  altogether  out  of  the  order  of  the  scheme  of 
progress  that  may  naturally  be  anticipated. 

But  if  legislation  can  be  out  of  its  sphere  in  the  matter 
of  thought,  it  can  also  be  out  of  its  sphere  in  the  matters 
of  speech,  action,  and  property. 

Next  to  liberty  of  thought  comes  liberty  of  speech, 
writing,  and  publication. 

Speech  and  publication  are  very  extensively  legislated 
for,  and  the  countries  of  continental  Europe  appear  all,  or 
nearly  all,  to  admit  the  unlimited  right  of  the  legislator 
to  interfere  as  much  as  he  pleases  with  the  natural  rights 
of  the  community  in  the  sphere  of  the,  expression  of 
thought. 

Where  rulers  govern  by  power,  and  not  by  the  enlight- 
ened choice  of  the  nation,  they  are  a  party  opposed  to  the 
nation.  On  the  one  hand  is  the  nation  and  the  national 
interest ;  and  on  the  other  hand  is  the  government  and  the 
interest  of  the  individuals  connected  with  it.  The  more 
power  the  rulers  have,  the  less  liberty  the  people  have; 
and  the  more  laud  and  privilege  the  rulers  have,  the  less 
wealth  have  the  population.  Now  wealth  and  power  are 
exactly  what  men  are  desirous  of  possessing;  and  as 
rulers  are  men,  it  is  not  to  be  wondered  at  that  they  dip 
their  fingers  into  every  man's  dish,  equitably  or  unequi- 
tably,  and  monopolize  the  best  things  that  happen  to  be 
going.  The  land,  of  course,  either  in  kind  or  in  some 


54  THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION. 

other  form,  falls  to  the  lot  of  the  rulers  and  their  coad- 
jutors— the  nobles  and  the  priests.  The  cultivation  of 
the  land  (the  labor),  instead  of  also  falling  to  the  lot  of 
the  privileged  classes,  becomes  the  portion  of  the  people. 
But  excessive  privileges  are  much  easier  maintained 
against  a  weak  people  than  against  a  strong  one ;  and 
as  the  people  can  only  be  strong  by  knowledge,  virtue, 
and  combination — knowledge,  virtue,  and  combination 
are  in  little  favor  with  despotic  governments.  Political 
knowledge  (that  is,  the  knowledge  of  their  rights  and  in- 
terests) is  carefully  excluded  from  the  mass  of  the  popu- 
lation ;  and  as  political  knowledge  grows  out  of  discussion 
about  social  welfare,  as  well  as  out  of  the  thoughtful  toil 
of  the  author,  both  discussion  and  authorship  are  sub- 
jected to  partial  or  total  prohibition.  The  most  frantic 
blasphemies  will  find  a  readier  license  for  publication 
than  a  sober  treatise  on  the  public  welfare ;  and  a  philo- 
sophical denial  of  all  right  and  wrong  whatever,  will  be 
more  tolerable  than  an  inquiry  into  the  foundations  of  the 
rulers'  privileges.  The  most  infamously  immoral  pro- 
duction is  less  likely  to  be  scrutinized  than  a  dissertation 
on  political  economy ;  and  an  association  for  murdering, 
torturing,  and  expatriating  the  population,  would  be  more 
readily  authorized  than  an  association  for  forwarding  the 
rights  of  the  people. 

.  Anything  in  the  shape  of  superstition  (that  is,  unin- 
quiring  credence)  is  esteemed  proper  enough ;  but  the 
moment  men  begin  to  inquire  and  to  seek  for  reasons, 
that  moment  is  the  government  alarmed,  and  that  moment 
must  means  be  put  in  operation  to  stop  the  course  of 
knowledge.*  Governments,  like  those  of  Russia,  Austria, 

*  "  Thus  the  universities  governed  by  ecclesiastics  persuaded  the  poor 
bigot  Philip  III.  to  pass  a  law  prohibiting  the  study  of  auy  new  system  of 
medicine,  and  requiring  Galen,  Hippocrates,  and  Avicenna  ;  they  scouted 
the  exact  sciences  and  experimental  philosophy,  which  said  they  made 
every  medical  man  a  Tiberius  ;  and  so  they  scared  the  timid  Ferdinand 


THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION.  55 

and  Italy,  can  only  exist  by  means  of  superstition ;  and 
the  question  with  them  is,  not  as  to  the  propriety  of 
allowing  men  to  obtain  knowledge  and  to  express  their 
thoughts,  but  as  to  the  propriety  of  the  existence  of  the 
government ;  and  every  restrictive  measure  that  affects 
the  free  expression  of  opinion,  is  only  an  act  of  self-de- 
fence against  the  nation.  The  government  must  either 
give  up  its  privileges,  or  keep  the  people  in  slavery  with 
regard  to  expression  of  opinion ;  and  the  stringent  laws 
of  the  continental  powers,  relative  to  every  kind  of  po- 
litical meeting,  are  no  more  than  measures  of  precaution, 
analogous  to  those  practised  by  the  pirate  who  scuttles 
his  prize  (with  its  crew)  as  a  measure  conducing  to  his 
safety.* 

The  objects  of  a  despotic  government  must  necessarily 
be  distinguished  from  its  means.  The  objects  are  wealth 
and  power ;  the  means,  tyranny  and  superstition.  Tyr- 
anny is  power  without  right,  and  superstition  is  credence 
without  evidence.  The  means  of  a  despotic  government, 
therefore,  are  power  without  right,  and  credence  without 
evidence.  The  governor  of  a  country,  in  the  earlier  stage 
of  legislation,  is  the  strongest  man  in  the  country ;  and, 
by  conversion,  the  strongest  man  in  the  country  is  the 
governor.  Now,  one  strongest  man,  who  has  the  oppor- 
tunity of  taking  a  thousand  weaker  men  in  detail,  is 
stronger  than  the  whole  thousand  if  he  can  prevent  them 
from  combining.  This  is  the  concise  explanation  of  the 

VII.  in  1830,  by  telling  him  that  the  schools  of  medicine  created  materialists, 
heretics,  and  revolutionists  ;  thereupon  the  beloved  monarch  shut  up  the 
lecture  rooms  forthwith." — FOKD'S  Spain. 

*  The  pirate  is  rationally  correct  ;  that  is,  his  act  does  conduce  to  his 
immediate  safety,  for  dead  men  tell  no  tales,  and  sunk  ships  cannot  ap- 
pear in  evidence.  And  despotic  governors  are  also  rationally  correct  ; 
that  is,  an  ignorant  and  superstitious  population  has  less  power  and  less 
desire  for  liberty  than  a  population  that  thinks  for  itself,  and  has  free  op- 
portunity of  expression.  The  remote  consequences,  however,  are  some- 
times overlooked.  When  the  truth  is  discovered,  the  pirate  is  hanged, 
and  the  ruler  guillotined. 


56  THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION. 

theory  of  a  despotic  government.  A  noble,  a  chief,  even 
a  bishop,  may  become  a  sovereign,  and  remain  so  as  long 
as  he  has  power  or  dexterity  to  prevent  the  people  from 
combining.  As  soon  as  they  combine  he  is  no  longer  the 
strongest,  and  his  wealth  as  well  as  his  power  is  in  a  fair 
way  to  depart.  It  therefore  becomes  a  matter  of  serious 
consideration  for  him  to  discover  and  put  in  practice  those 
means  that  tend  to  secure  his  power,  and  prevent  his 
enemies  (his  subjects)  from  combining. 

In  the  first  place,  he  must  have  more  wealth ;  and,  as 
he  cannot  have  it  by  his  own  honest  industry,  he  must 
have  it  by  the  industry  of  others,  or  by  the  monopoly  of 
those  natural  objects  which  other  men  must  possess  as  the 
conditions  of  their  existence. 

Land  is  the  great  source  of  wealth ;  forests  and  fisher- 
ies are  also  tolerable ;  mines  and  minerals  are  capable  of 
yielding  a  revenue ;  and,  in  addition  to  these,  comes  the 
taxation  of  labor. 

These  sources  of  wealth,  therefore,  must  be  turned  to 
account,  and  the  governor  of  course  does  not  neglect  them. 
Wealth  is  power  for  the  ruler,  as  knowledge  is  power  for 
the  people ;  and  the  more  wealth  the  ruler  has,  the  more 
power  has  he  for  taking  advantage  of  his  subjects. 
Wealth,  therefore,  is  both  a  means  and  an  end, — a  means 
of  getting  more  wealth  and  of  getting  more  power. 
Wealth  gives  birth  to  a  standing  army,  and  a  standing 
army  gives  birth  to  more  power,  as  it  enables  the  ruler 
to  apply  his  principles  more  extensively  and  with  greater 
security. 

But  if  a  people  were  to  combine  against  any  standing 
army  that  is  likely  to  exist,  the  ruler  would  no  longer  be 
a  ruler,  and  the  army  would  no  longer  be  an  army.  It 
therefore  becomes  a  matter  of  serious  thought  for  the 
ruler  to  obviate  the  tendencies  towards  combination. 

There  are  two  or  three  kinds  of  combination. 

1st,  The  combination  of  national  antipathy. — This  com- 


THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION.  57 

bination  may  exist  where  there  is  abundance  of  ignorance. 
The  Indians  might  combine  against  the  Whites  on  the 
continent  of  America,  and,  though  the  combinations  were 
partial,  they  did  a  great  deal  of  mischief  in  bygone  times. 
The  Tyrolese  might  combine  on  the  same  principle,  and 
so  might  the  Poles,  the  Swiss,  the  Greeks,  etc.  It  must 
not  be  supposed  that  these  are  contests  for  freedom.  On 
the  contrary,  they  are  contests  against  a  foreign  tyranny 
in  favor  of  a  domestic  one.  Such  combinations  are 
interesting  as  matters  of  history,  but  of  very  little  im- 
portance to  the  progress  of  real  freedom. 

2d,  Religious  combination. — This  also  is  a  matter  of 
sentiment,  and  by  no  means  advances  freedom  as  a 
matter  of  necessity.  The  Crusades  were  singular  exhibi- 
tions of  this  kind  of  combination  carried  out  on  a  large 
scale.  The  wars  of  the  Ligue  also  exhibit  a  double  com- 
bination of  ruffians  on  both  sides,  who  perpetrated  aston- 
ishing crimes  for  the  advancement  of  their  religious 
party.* 

The  Presbyterians  of  Scotland,  and  the  Puritans  of 
England,  had  hold  of  the  truth ;  and,  though  they  had 
scarcely  yet  learnt  to  view  it  in  its  true  light,  they  pro- 
gressed immensely  towards  freedom.  They  did  confound 
civil  and  religious  liberty ;  but  notwithstanding,  it  is  to 
them,  under  God,  that  wa  owe  the  preservation  of  the 

*  Absurd  as  the  Crusades  were  in  themselves,  they  were  of  the  highest 
value  to  Europe  ;  in  fact,  it  seems  that  whatever  the  temporary  evils  at- 
tendant on  any  one  part  of  human  condition,  or  of  human  manifestation, 
that  condition  was  a  phase  of  progress,  calculated  to  leave  society  in  a 
better  state  than  it  found  it.  This  principle  is  applicable  also  to  the  first 
French  devolution.  It  was  a  fearful  scene  when  viewed  individually. 
But  if  we  look  to  the  condition  of  France  before  the  revolution,  and  again 
after  the  revolution,  we  cannot  deny  that  its  effects  were  of  the  greatest 
value  to  the  country.  Those  who  attend  merely  to  the  revolution  and  its 
horrors,  are  like  those  who  go  to  see  a  criminal  executed  without  asking 
the  reason  of  his  execution,  or  inquiring  into  the  reasonableness  of  the 
laws  which  demand  his  execution.  The  French  Kevolution  was  produced 
by  the  laws  of  nature.  Who  made  those  laws  '1 


58  THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION. 

cause  of  liberty  in  this  country,  when  the  continent,  and 
especially  France,  either  extinguished  the  little  liberty 
that  had  begun  to  illuminate  the  people,  or  so  impeded 
its  progress  that  they  have  still  their  convulsions  before 
them.  The  extinction  of  Protestantism  in  France  ren- 
dered a  physical  force  convulsion  necessary  before  the 
obstacles  to  the  progress  of  society  could  be  removed; 
and  if  full  liberty  of  thought  had  been  accorded,  instead 
of  the  Revocation  of  the  Edict  of  Nantes,  in  all  probabil- 
ity the  progression  of  society  would  have  taken  place  by 
the  gradual  removal  of  abuses,  instead  of  being  arrested 
until  the  bulwarks  of  despotism  were  no  longer  strong 
enough  to  retain  the  expansive  energies  of  the  popula- 
tion. To  suppose  that  the  French  Revolution  could  have 
been  prevented  by  any  of  the  individuals  who  happened  to 
figure  in  it,  is  to  suppose  that  causes  are  no  causes,  and " 
effects  no  effects.  But  France  has  still  her  work  to  do ; 
and,  although  none  of  the  past  frenzy  can  be  again  antici- 
pated, as  the  causes  do  not  exist  to  produce  it,*  France 

*  The  atrocities  of  the  first  French  Revolution  were  French  ;  the  atroci- 
ties of  the  last  were  Parisian.  In  the  former  case  there  was  not  only 
insurrection  in  the  towns,  but  there  was  the  most  fearful  of  all  convul- 
sions— a  rural  insurrection.  The  atrocities  of  the  last  Eevolution,  etc., 
were  very  partial.  They  were  confined  to  a  few  of  the  lowest  population 
in  Paris  ;  and,  no  doubt,  there  are  in  Paris,  at  the  bottom  of  society,  per- 
sons who  would  do  anything.  There  is  no  possibility,  however,  of  insti- 
tuting a  comparison  between  the  frenzy  of  the  late  Revolution  and  that 
of  the  former.  It  is  perfectly  absurd,  and  only  shows  how  panic  and  party 
feeling  will  blind  the  judgment  and  make  the  tongue  rave  nonsense. 

To  those  who  speak  so  loudly  and  so  long  of  the  horrors  of  insurrection, 
we  propound  a  question,  "  Which  is  the  worst,  the  most  atrocious,  the 
most  base,  and  the  greatest  reproach  to  a  nation. 

"  1st,  The  atrocities  that  accompany  a  political  insurrection  ?  or, 

"  2d,  Women  poisoning  people  by  scores  for  the  sake  of  obtaining  burial 
fees  ?  "  In  the  paper,  yesterday,  we  read  an  account  of  a  woman  thus  dis- 
posing of  eight  of  her  offspring. 

The  first  is  French. 

The  latter  is  English. 

The  demoralization  going  on  in  Britain  is  such,  that  if  ever  there  were 
anything  like  an  insurrection,  it  is  impossible  to  predict  the  extent  to 


THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION.  59 

has  yet  to  shake  off  despotism,  and  to  form  a  govern- 
ment that  shall  rule  otherwise  than  by  a  standing  army 
and  a  system  of  officials. 

In  the  convulsions  of  France  we  have  a  third  kind  of 
combination ;  namely,  combination  to  overthrow  an  evil 
that  presses  on  the  feelings,  thoughts,  and  interests  of 
men.  The  population  suffered  from  a  common  evil,  and 
when  that  evil  was  exposed,  they  combined  to  overthrow 
it.  The  combination,  however,  was  not  of  a  high  char- 
acter. It  was  a  mere  reaction  under  pressure.  To  get 
rid  of  the  pressure  was  nearly  the  sum  and  substance  of 
the  combination ;  and  disunion  and  licentiousness  fol- 
lowed when  the  pressure  was  removed. 

But  there  is  another  kind  of  combination,  and  a  far 
more  important  one  for  the  welfare  of  the  world.  The 
combination  of  knowledge  and  reason.  Knowledge  is 
credence  based  on  sufficient  evidence ;  and  reason  is 
the  power  of  perceiving  consequences,  and  inferring  ante- 
cedents. Without  reason  man  would  only  be  a  higher 
kind  of  ape ;  as  it  is,  he  is  a  spirit  and  an  immortal. 

Man  has  an  intellect  as  well  as  a  bodily  frame,  and  this 
intellect  has  its  laws  and  its  requirements.  Observation 
is  its  food,  reason  is  its  process  of  digestion,  and  truth  is 
its  circulating  fluid,  without  which  it  degenerates  and  dies. 
Truth  makes  the  mind  strong,  ignorance  makes  it  weak, 
and  error  infects  it  with  disease.  Knowledge  is  not  only 
power,  it  is  strength — strength  of  the  mind,  health,  and 
life,  and  strength.  To  obliterate  this  strength,  therefore, 
is  the  object  of  the  despotic  ruler.  If  the  people  are 
strong,  the  despot  must  be  weak;  but  the  legitimate 
ruler  is  so  much  the  stronger  as  the  people  are  stronger. 
When  the  rulers  and  the  nation  are  in  opposite  scales, 

>  . 

which  frenzy  might  be  carried.  The  demoralization  of  the  population  is 
England's  greatest  danger  ;  and,  if  not  met  in  time  by  means  of  moral 
and  intellectual  training,  it  may  produce  the  direst  evils,  and  make  Eng- 
land a  manufacturing  hell. 


#0  THE  THEORY  OF  HUNAN  PROGRESSION. 

the  less  weight  the  people  have,  the  more  easily  are  they 
outweighed ;  but  when  both  are  in  the  same  scales,  the 
heavier  they  both  are  the  better  for  both,  and  the  worse  for 
those  who  are  opposed  to  them.  In  a  free  country,  where 
law  was  absolutely  supreme  and  really  equitable,  every 
man  would  feel  the  ruler  to  be  a  portion  of  himself,  and 
would  lend  his  arm  or  his  aid  to  further  the  ends  of 
justice.  The  ruler  of  a  free  country  should  be  the  pure 
administrator  of  the  law — the  first  magistrate  of  equity, 
to  whom  every  man  was  bound  by  the  righteous  bonds 
of  justice,  and  by  the  sentiments  of  reverence  implanted 
in  our  nature  to  elevate  our  race  above  the  creatures  that 
surround  us. 

In  a  despotism,  superstition  takes  the  place  of  knowl- 
edge, and  the  fear  of  suffering  helps  to  procure  an  un- 
willing obedience. 

The  ruler  is  the  wolf,  the  people  are  the  flock,  and  the 
lawyers  *  and  priests  f  are  the  foxes  who  prepare  the  flock 
for  slaughter. 

When  the  priesthood  lose  their  influence,  an  army 
must  be  resorted  to,  and  physical  tyranny  and  centraliza- 

*  "  England,  happy  in  the  integrity  and  mildness  of  her  judges  in  the 
18th  century,  and  in  our  own  times — during  the  Stuart  reigns,  was  cursed 
by  a  succession  of  ruffians  in  ermine,  who,  for  the  sake  of  court  favor, 
violated  the  principles  of  law,  the  precepts  of  religion,  and  the  dictates  of 
humanity." — CAMPBELL'S  Lives  of  the  Chancellors. 

f  In  speaking  lightly  of  the  priests,  we  do  not  speak  lightly  of  men  hold- 
ing a  sacred  office.  The  priest — that  is,  the  sacriflcer  and  the  mediator 
• — does  not  hold  a  sacred  office.  Every  human  priest  is  an  antichrist. 
In  the  Christian  religion  there  is  but  one  Priest,  and  his  sacrifice  is  of- 
fered, so  that  there  remains  no  more  offering  for  sin.  "  It  is  finished  !  " 

The  only  real  Priest  has  ascended  into  heaven,  and  to  those  who  wait 
for  him  he  will  come  a  second  time  unto  salvation.  All  other  priests  are 
antichrists. 

The  present  priests,  including  the  Roman  sacriflcers  and  mediators, 
must  be  classed  with  alchemists,  astrologers,  and  necromancers,  partly 
deceived,  and  partly  deceivers.  Next  to  that  of  becoming  the  object  of 
worship  (like  the  Grand  Llama),  the  office  of  priest  is  the  most  wicked 
that  it  is  possible  for  man  to  fill. 


THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION.  61 

tion  must  do  the  work  of  superstition.  At  all  hazards, 
the  people  must  be  kept  down,  or  the  game  of  despotism 
is  lost. 

The  simplest  plan  of  a  despotism  is  to  make  the  people 
believe  that  the  ruler  is  a  distant  relation  to  some  of  the 
deities  of  the  country.  A  greater  or  less  degree  of  this 
method  appears  to  be  common  in  infant  stages  of  society, 
but  a  small  advance  of  knowledge  suffices  to  disturb  so 
convenient  a  doctrine  ;  and  this  is  partly  the  reason  why 
so  dire  an  antipathy  should  be  manifested  by  the  rulers 
of  various  countries  to  the  introduction  of  the  gospel  as 
contained  in  revelation.  Russia,  Austria,  and  Italy,  are 
little  better  than  Pagan  countries,  and  the  rulers  are 
partially  or  altogether  believed  to  have  some  special 
connection  with  the  object  of  worship,  and  to  rule  by 
right  divine.* 

The  Pope,  of  course,  is  a  kind  of  partial  divinity,  from 
being  the  high-priest  of  the  Roman  superstitions ;  and,  in 
Russia,  "  God  and  the  Emperor  "  are  much  on  the  same 
footing  as  God  and  the  Pope.  Both  the  Pope  and  the 
Emperor  are  blasphemously  associated  with  the  Divine 
Majesty,  and  the  authority  of  Heaven  is  supposed  in  some 
obscure  way  or  other  to  attach  to  the  persons  of  those 
worthies.  France  has  passed  the  theological  view  of 

*  "  Emperors,  kings,  and  other  superiors,  have  their  power  from  God, 
because  they  are  the  substitutes  of  God  on  earth." 

Qites.— "  How  must  subjects  behave  towards  their  sovereign  ? 

A>ix.—"  Subjects  must  behave  towards  their  sovereign  like  faithful  slaves 
towards  their  master. 

Q,,<>S.—"  Why  must  subjects  behave  like  slaves  ? 

A  us. — "Because  their  sovereign  is  their  master,  and  has  power  over 
their  property  as  well  as  over  their  life. 

Ques. — "  Are  subjects  bound  to  obey  also  bad  sovereigns  ? 

Ans. — "  Yes,  subjects  are  bound  to  obey  not  only  good,  but  also  bad 
sovereigns."— '<  The  Duty  of  Subjects  towards  their  Sovereign,  for  In- 
struction and  Beading,  in  the  Second  Class  of  Elementary  Schools." 
Milan:  1824. 

Such  are  the  deliberate  blasphemies  inculcated  by  order  of  the  Austrian 
government. 


62  THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION. 

government,  and  the  priest  is  no  longer  a  jackal  to  the 
king.  Superstition  has  lost  its  hold ;  and  though  the 
women  must  still  have  some  kind  of  religion,  the  men 
have  got  beyond  the  point  of  believing  merely  on  au- 
thority ;  and  as,  unfortunately,  they  have  been  denied  the 
truth,  they  have  sunk  into  passive  infidelity.  Supersti- 
tion and  the  ruler  are  no  longer  allied  in  their  thoughts, 
and  an  innumerable  multitude  of  officials  must  be  called 
into  existence  to  keep  them  from  'indulging  in  political 
disturbances. 

Mere  superstition,  however,  is  insufficient  to  enslave  a 
people  that  has  commercial  intercourse  with  other  nations. 
So  long  as  the  country  can  be  surrounded  with  a  barrier, 
and  free  communication  prevented,  superstition  may  do 
its  work  tolerably  well,  and  a  nation  may  remain  in  much 
the  same  state  for  an  indefinite  period.*  When,  for  a 

*  We  have  only  to  look  at  Spain  to  see  how  effectually  superstition  erad- 
icates even  an  aspiration  after  freedom.  Let  it  be  remembered  that  a  few 
centuries  since  Spain  was  second  to  no  country  in  Europe  in  the  extent  of 
her  political  power.  What  is  she  now,  and  what  has  superstition  made 
her  ?  "  The  masses  care  no  more  for  a  constitution  than  the  Berber  or 
Oriental ;  with  them  this  thing  of  parchment  is  no  reality,  but  a  mere  ab- 
straction, which  they  neither  understand  nor  estimate.  The  people  do 
not  want  their  laws  to  bo  changed,  but  to  have  them  fairly  administered ; 
the  laws  are  good  in  theory,  but  worm-eaten  in  practice,  by  bribery  and 
corruption.  Confer  a  spick-and-span  patent  Benthamite  constitution  on 
Spaniards,  and  they  will  take  it  without  thanks;  annul  it,  and  they  will 
respond  by  a  patient  shrug.  Their  only  idea  of  government  is  despotism." 
— FOKD'S  Spain,  p.  862. 

Mr.  Ford  adds,  that  though  despotism  may  be  odious  in  theory,  it  never 
pressed  harshly  on  the  nation  in  practice.  This  is  rather  a  singular  way 
of  reading  Spanish  history;  and  we  would  ask,  if  despotism  have  not 
pressed  hard,  what  is  it  that  has  "pressed  so  hard  ?  If  despotism  has  not 
pressed  hard  on  Spain,  what  was  it  that  burnt  30,000  of  her  inhabitants, 
and  imprisoned  and  expatriated  an  immense  multitude  of  her  industrious 
population  ?  Of  course  the  Roman  superstitions  were  at  the  bottom  of 
the  persecutions,  but  the  despotism  was  the  efficient  agent  in  carrying 
out  the  diabolical  instigations  of  the  monks  and  priests.  Where  there  is 
not  a  despotism,  the  power  of  the  priest  is  annulled.  He  can  no  longer 
procure  the  death  or  the  exile  of  those  who  differ  in  belief.  And  where- 
over  the  priest  is  found,  there  will  be  found  an  ally  and  a  supporter  of 


THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION.  G3 

thousand  years,  the  sun  rises  every  day  upon  similar 
conditions,  it  is  by  no  means  wonderful  that  change  should 
not  take  place.  In  the  political,  as  well  as  the  physical 
world,  the  conditions  must  be  changed  before  we  can  look 
for  a  change  in  the  phenomena.  Change  the  conditions, 
and  some  change  or  other  will  be  exhibited  in  the  con- 
sequent results.  For  those  who  have  the  land  and  the 
privilege,  every  change  is  dangerous  ;  and  the  invariable 
tendency  of  the  privileged  classes  to  oppose  change  is 
only  a  prudent  exercise  of  foresight. 

One  of  the  most  important  changes  in  the  condition  of 
a  people  is  free  intercourse  with  strangers.  Interchange 
of  thought  and  opinion  takes  place,  information  is  given 
and  received,  new  arts  are  learnt  and  communicated,  and 
something  analogous  to  a  chemical  effervescence  takes 
place  between  the  two  people,  who  are  thus  mutually  ex- 
cited to  a  state  of  social  ferment.  But  not  only  are  nations 
stimulated  by  intercourse  with  others ;  it  appears  to  be  a 
law  of  animal  development,  that  the  mixture  of  races 
produces  a  higher  and  a  better  type  than  either  of  the 
originals,  and  the  finest  races  are  those  in  whose  elements 
the  original  types  have  almost  disappeared.  Races  of 
men  may,  at  the  same  time,  be  so  mingled  as  to  produce 
a  lower  type,  and  this  law  also  extends  to  the  lower 
animals ;  but  while  two  races,  already  low,  may  be  injudi- 
ciously crossed,  to  the  detriment  of  the  progeny,  there 
seems  little  reason  for  doubt  that  the  intermixture  of 
national  blood,  where  the  races  are  of  a  higher  character, 
is  conducive  to  the  physical  perfection  of  mankind.  The 
races  of  western  Europe,  that  now  take  the  pre-eminence 
in  the  world,  are  complex,  and  the  result  of  many  amalga- 
mations. The  south  of  Britain,  especially,  which  produces 
men  probably  inferior  to  none  on  the  whole  surface  of  the 

despotic  power.  Superstition  ruined  the  credence  of  Spain,  and  despotism 
ruined  the  country.  The  two  walk  hand  in  hand,  like  the  invisible  pesti- 
lence and  the  loathsome  disease  that  shows  that  pestilence  to  the  world. 


04  THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION. 

globe,  is  peopled  by  a  race  resulting  from  many  tribes 
who  successively  invaded  the  shores,  and  left  a  greater 
or  less  impress  on  the  character  of  the  inhabitants.  The 
Spaniard  and  the  Frenchman  are  also  the  results  of 
mixed  blood  ;  and,  though  the  kingdom  of  Spain  has  sunk 
into  insignificance  from  the  effects  of  superstition  and 
tyranny,  the  Spaniard  is  a  high  type  of  the  human  species, 
and  only  wants  truth  and  freedom  to  enable  him  to  play 
a  distinguished  part  in  the  destinies  of  the  world.  When 
England  and  France  were  as  superstitious  and  as  en- 
slaved as  Spain,  Spain  was  perhaps  the  most  powerful 
kingdom  in  Europe :  but  since  Spain  did  not  progress  in 
freedom,  she  has  naturally  sunk  into  every  kind  of  licen- 
tiousness ;  and  the  Spanish  race,  with  all  its  immorality 
and  recklessness  of  bloodshed,  is  a  living  evidence  of  what 
kings  and  priests  can  do  with  a  nation,  when  the  nation 
does  not  destroy  their  influence  in  time.  Had  Spain 
established  freedom  of  thought,  instead  of  torturing  and 
expatriating  her  industrious  inhabitants,  she  might  now 
have  been  a  second  England,  with  wealth  and  power  be- 
yond any  other  continental  country.  Freedom  of  thought 
is  now  evolving  in  Spain;  and  if  a  moderate  tyranny 
could  be  established,  to  consolidate  the  disjointed  elements 
of  the  country,  Spain  might  still  progress.  But  freedom 
of  thought  is  now  necessary ;  and  if  any  attempt  be  made 
to  curtail  it,  the  progress  of  revolution  may  go  on  for 
years  and  years,  until  worn  out  by  anarchy,  and  the 
credences  of  the  rising  generation  running  counter  to  the 
old  superstitions,  some  bold  adventurer  may  seize  the 
reins  of  government,  and  exhibit  Spain  under  an  entirely 
new  aspect.  That  the  present  rulers  will  continue  is 
almost  an  impossibility. 


THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION.  65 


SECTION  III. — THE     COMBINATION    OF     KNOWLEDGE    AND 
REASON. 

[KNOWLEDGE  is    CREDENCE  BASED    ON    SUFFICIENT   EVIDENCE, 

AND  REASON  IS  THE  POWEK  OF  PERCEIVING  CONSEQUENCES,  AND 
OF  INFERRING  ANTECEDF.N TS.] 

The  combination  of  knowledge  and  reason  is  the  great 
moving  power  destined  to  emancipate  the  world.  It  is 
the  only  ground  of  hope  for  the  unprivileged  classes,  but, 
at  the  same  time,  it  is  a  sure  ground  of  hope ;  and  the 
more  rapidly  knowledge  increases,  the  more  rapidly  will 
its  all-powerful  influence  be  made  apparent  to  the  world. 

The  first  great  condition  of  true  knowledge  is  the 
Bible.  Without  this,  man  knows  nothing.  He  neither 
knows  what  he  is  nor  what  is  his  destiny ;  and  though 
he  may  guess  at  some  of  the  important  truths  in  which 
the  race  is  involved,  he  gropes  in  obscurity  as  to  the 
most  essential.  Without  the  Bible,  superstition  and  in- 
fidelity reign  universally.  But  God  never  made  man  to 
be  either  superstitious  or  an  infidel;  and  as  soon  as  either 
of  those  forms  is  stamped  upon  a  nation,  every  kind  of 
error  is  let  loose,  and  the  erroneous  credence  in  the  mat- 
ter of  religion  extends  to  the  temporal  affairs  of  the  state. 
There  is  but  one  truth  ;  and  if  men  go  wrong  in  the  most 
important  item,  we  cannot  wonder  that  they  should  err 
as  to  the  moral  principles  by  which  they  should  be  guided 
in  their  actions  towards  each  other.  If  they  know  not 
their  duties  to  their  Creator,  how  can  it  be  expected  that 
they  should  fulfil  their  duties  to  their  felloAvs  ?  * 

*  In  saying  that  without  tho  Bible  man  knows  nothing,  wo  do  not  mean 
that  science  or  philosophy  are  to  be  learned  from  the  Bible.  All  natural- 
knowledge  may  be  learned  without  the  Bible ;  but  suppose  a  nation  were 
possessed  of  all  natural  knowledge,  and  yet  had  not  the  Bible,  what  doubts 
and  mysteries  would  remain  to  overwhelm  the  inquirer  ?  Besides,  man 
as  man,  is  a  worshipping  creature,  and  all  history  informs  us  that  where 

5 


66  THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION. 

Independently  of  all  considerations  of  a  hereafter,  the 
Bible  lias  an  eminent  effect  in  regulating  the  conditions 
of  men  in  this  world.  Religious  superstition  is  essentially 
tyrannical.  It  interferes  with  men's  thoughts  and  actions 
in  almost  every  country  of  the  globe,  and  freedom  ap- 
pears to  be  scarcely  possible  wherever  it  has  a  decided 
hold  on  the  community.  Superstition  is  the  basis  of 
bigotry,  and  bigotry  is  the  basis  of  persecution.  Destroy 
the  superstition,  and  both -bigotry  and  persecution  will 
soon  fall  to  the  ground. 

The  Bible  strikes  at  the  root  of  persecution,  by  remov- 
ing the  false  credence  on  which  it  is  based ;  and  wher- 
ever the  Bible  gains  an  ascendency  over  the  priestcraft 
of  a  superstition,  we  may  be  certain  that,  sooner  or  later, 
all  persecution  will  disappear,  and  liberty  of  thought  be 
established.  The  Bible  sanctions  no  persecution,  but 
teaches  men  that  they  are  made  of  one  flesh,  and  that 
they  are  personally  responsible  to  their  Creator. 

Next  to  the  Bible  is  the  knowledge  of  material  nature. 
An  endless  variety  of  phenomena  are  constantly  occur- 
ring around  us,  and  these,  by  a  law  of  our  mental  con- 
stitution, are  referred  to  causes. 

the  revelation  of  truth  was  unknown,  men  plunged  madly  into  supersti- 
tion. The  Bible  saves  from  this  great  whirlpool  of  destruction;  and  by 
enlightening  man  on  his  nature  and  destiny,  and  by  revealing  more  clearly 
and  specifically  the  wonderful  benevolence  of  the  Creator,  and  the  con- 
stant interest  taken  by  the  Divine  Being  in  the  affairs  of  this  world,  the 
Bible  enables  man  to  settle  his  credence,  and  to  classify  his  knowledge 
upon  a  system  unknown  to  those  who  have  not  the  truth.  When,  above 
all  our  philosophy,  there  remains  an  infinite  void  or  an  infinite  unknown, 
we  doubt,  and  speculate,  and  wander  in  obscurity.  But  when  revelation 
opens  up  the  highest  truths  that  involve  our  race,  and  teaches  what  \ve 
must  do  to  be  saved,  all  other  knowledge  ranges  itself  lower  down  in  the 
scale,  and  assumes  a  definite  position,  instead  of  floating  loosely  amidst 
^the  vague  mysteries  of  the  imagination.  Philosophy,  however  clear,  is 
but  the  deceitful  moonlight  that  mocks  with  its  illusions;  and  though 
much  may  be  seen  and  known  even  by  the  moonlight,  the  calm  and  steady 
rays  of  day  are  requisite  before  the  spell  of  the  fancy  is  dissolved,  and  bo- 
fore  tho  form  and  color  of  creation  can  be  seen  in  their  reality. 


THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION.  67 

These  causes  have  ever  played  a  most  prominent  part 
in  the  history  of  mankind,  and  the  fancy  has  ever  thrown 
around  them  that  mysterious  mantle  of  the  imagination 
by  which  they  were  clothed  with  personality.  From 
necessary  forms  of  rational  thought,  they  became  trans- 
figured, each  and  all  of  them,  into  conscious  existences, 
that  willed  and  acted  for  themselves,  and  produced  the 
multifarious  phenomena  of  nature.  The  child  asks  us, 
not  "  What  ?  "  but  "  Why  ?  "  *  And  infant  nations,  who 
never  belie  the  great  principles  of  our  nature,  whether 
moral,  intellectual,  or  sensual,  whether  good  or  evil,  rushed 
from  the  exhibition  of  the  phenomenon  to  the  cause  cre- 
ator that  produced  it — endowed  that  cause  with  all  the 
attributes  of  mind,  and  filled  the  world  with  half  mate- 
rial spirits,  demons  and  demigods,  and  all  the  vague 
mythologies  of  mysterious  influences  that  spring  from  the 
unhallowed  heart  of  man,  which,  naked  and  shamed,  has 
sought  refuge  in  the  dark  caverns  of  superstition.  As 
man  was,  so  were  the  causes : — fierce  warrior-deities  with 
the  warlike  nations —  emblems  of  thought,  "  sitting  on  a 
lotus  leaf,  immersed  in  the  contemplation  of  their  own 
divinity,"  among  the  mystic  speculators  of  the  sunlit 
lands — demons  of  carnage,  figured  in  the  tiger  fetish  of 
the  oppressed  progeny  of  Ham — Molochs,  Baals,  or  Saturns 
— fates,  furies,  or  destinies  ; — while  the  classic  poesy  of 
Greece  and  Rome  deified  the  sentiments  of  the  human 
mind,  and  pictured  them  as  beings  presiding  over  nature, 
though  steeped  in  all  the  vices  of  mankind. 

Still,  wherever  there  was  intellect  there  was  beauty. 
False  as  were  the  credences,  we  cannot  now  turn  to  them 
without  recognizing  the  glorious  attributes  of  reason 
with  which  mankind  has  been  endowed.  Nor  can  we 
wonder  at  the  spell  of  fascination,  when  we  find  the  mere 
abstractions  of  our  thought  presented  in  the  forms  of  a 

*  A  child  never  thinks  of  measuring  a  phenomenon,  but  asks,  "  What 
produced  it  ?  "    "  Why  did  it  take  place  ?  " 


68  THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION. 

Hebe,  a  Venus,  or  Minerva.  Dark  as  were  the  times  of 
ancient  paganism,  there  was  a  beauty  of  imagination  that 
speaks  home  to  the  intellect  of  man,  and  leaves  a  sad  re- 
gret. Let  us  not  forget,  however,  that  we  behold,  not  as 
actors  in  the  scene,  but  as  the  spectators  at  those  gladia- 
torial shows  where  the  contest  of  man  with  death  was 
the  absorbing  drama  for  the  onlooker,  while  the  victims 
in  the  arena  poured  forth  their  blood  and  perished. 

It  was  reserved  for  the  corruption  of  Christianity  to 
throw  the  darkest  shade.  It  is  said  that  "  the  shadow  is 
nowhere  so  dark  as  immediately  under  the  lamp ;  "  and 
the  true  light  of  Heaven  was  converted,  not  into  the  lamp 
that  lightens,  but  into  the  lamp  that  casts  a  shade.  Piety 
died  away,  and  theology  took  her  place.  Creeds  and  con- 
fessions were  substituted  for  living  virtue.  Christians 
forgot  to  fix  their  eyes  on  Heaven,  and  deified  the  symbols 
of  religion. 

The  wisdom  that  is  from  above  is  not  a  creed,  but 
a  principle  of  life  imbued  with  truth ;  and  when  the 
Church  forgot  the  life,  the  truth  vanished  from  the  sym- 
bol, and  left  the  dead  remains  of  unspiritual  knowledge. 
The  shadows  were  dark  before,  but  now  night  shrouded 
in  a  veil. 

Now  was  the  night  of  degradation.  Now  was  man 
seen,  not  in  the  energies  of  his  pride,  not  in  the  brilliant 
colors  of  his  fancy,  not  in  the  heroism  of  a  noble  heart, 
that  had  framed  its  country  for  its  God,  and  rushed  to 
death  self-sacrificed — but  in  the  drivelling  wretchedness 
of  priestcraft,  and  in  the  sensuality  of  worse  than  pagan 
Rome.  Now  indeed  was  darkness.  Truth  had  few  wor- 
shippers— tradition  had  her  hosts.  Virtue  was  gone,  and 
man  was  content  with  ceremony.  Causes  were  no  longer 
deities ;  and  all  that  had  remained  of  beauty  was  drowned 
in  the  senseless  legend  of  the  monkish  tale. 

Causes  now  were  demons  and  demi-demons.  The  at- 
mosphere of  earth  was  filled  with  spirits  of  malignity. 


THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION.  69 

Demons  and  devils  stared  from  out  the  ordinary  phenom- 
ena of  nature.*  Tempests  had  their  witches,  winds  had 
their  wizards,  and  saints  were  prayed  to  for  protection. 
Now  was  death  triumphant.  Death  of  all  that  was  noble, 
death  of  all  that  was  true,  death  of  all  that  was  brave. 
Now  was  the  reign  of  ignorance,  and  now  was  the  priest 
man's  deity.  Now  was  "  the  heel  bruised,"  and  now  was 
truth  transformed  into  a  lie.  Lies  in  the  life,  lies  in  the 
heart,  lies  on  the  tongue,  lies  in  the  creed,  lies  in  the  cere- 
mony, lies  in  the  vow,  lies  in  the  church,  lies  at  the  altar, 
and  lies  to  the  lips  of  the  last  expiring  agonies  of  man. 
9,  mystery  of  iniquity  ! 

"^ut  the  causes  did  not  fall  alone.  As  the  causes  fell, 
so  fell  man.  Man  and  his  deities  are  linked  by  a  chain 
that  nothing  severs  but  death;  for  as  the  object -of  our 
worship  is,  so  shall  we  be,  more  and  more  nearly. 

While  we  look  to  the  night  of  intellect  and  virtue  that 
followed  the  teaching  of  the  priest,  let  us  also  look  to  one 
incident  that  shows  the  depth  of  human  degradation. 
Man  had  anciently  defied  the  cause,  and  created,  accord- 
ing to  a  necessary  law  of  our  nature,  a  something  that 
should  afford  an  explanation  of  phenomena.  The  priest 
now  creates  not  a  cause,  but  a  phenomenon. 

So  long  as  man  takes  the  fact  in  nature,  and  seeks  to 
assign  a  cause,  he  follows  the  true  path ;  and  that  path 
is  abstractly  correct,  however  absurd  may  be  the  fancied 
explanation.  The  priest,  however,  who  turned  everything 
into  a  lie,  forsook  even  this  great  principle  of  our  intel- 
lect, and  took  a  cause  and  worked  a  miracle.  He  sought 

*  "Such  were  the  words  which  Paracelsus  addressed  to  his  contem- 
poraries, who  were  as  yet  incapable  of  appreciating  doctrines  of  this  sort  ; 
for  the  belief  in  enchantment  still  remained  everywhere  unshaken,  and 
faith  in  thi>  world  of  spirits  still  held  men's  minds  in  so  close  a  bondage, 
that  thousands  were,  according  to  their  own  conviction,  given  up  as  a 
pivy  to  the  devil  ;  while  at  the  command  of  religion  as  well  as  of  law, 
countless  piles  were  lighted,  by  the  flames  of  which  human  society  was  to 
be  purified." — Hecker's  Epidemics  of  the  Middle  Ages,  p.  100. 


70  THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION. 

no  longer  to  personify,  but  to  simulate.  And  the  vulgar 
miracles  of  the  Papal  heresy  were  simulated  facts 
wrought  for  the  purposes  of  deception.  His  bleeding  idols 
and  moving  pictures,  and  all  the  other  stock-in-trade  of 
lying  priestcraft,  were  imitations  of  phenomena ;  while 
wooden  Virgin  Marys  and  human  saints  were  supposed 
to  preside  over  the  operations  of  the  elements. 

To  suppose  that  anything  else  than  vice,  abomination, 
and  tyranny,  could  exist  with  such  a  system,  is  out  of  the 
question.  All  the  history  of  man  teaches  us,  that  where 
there  is  a  corrupt  priesthood,  there  is  a  corrupt  people. 
And  if  the  people  are  corrupt,  if  from  the  king  on  the  throne 
to  the  peasant  who  tills  the  field,  lies  and  superstition 
form  the  sum  and  substance  of  theological  credence, 
where  in  all  the  world  can  liberty  be  expected  to  come 
from  ?  Does  liberty  grow  out  of  lies  ?  or  out  of  truth  ? 
Out  of  ignorance  and  vice  ?  or  out  of  knowledge  and 
virtue  ?  And  if  it  does  grow  out  of  Truth,  there  is  but  one 
Truth ;  and  that  truth  is  the  condition  of  man's  welfare, 
and  the  only  price  at  which  true  freedom  can  be  pur- 
chased ! 

It  may  be  supposed  that  we  dwell  too  strongly  and 
too  long  on  the  superstitions  of  the  Roman  heresy. 
Not  so.  These  superstitions  have  more  political  in- 
fluence for  the  destruction  of  freedom,  than  all  the 
other  causes  that  act  on  the  states  of  central  and 
southern  Europe.  Read  the  history  of  any  country 
where  Romanism  has  been  the  prevailing  superstition ; 
read  the  best  accounts  of  the  present  condition  of  any 
Roman  Catholic  countries — and  then  say  if  you  can 
find  anything  whatever  that  can  be  called  even  an  ap- 
proach to  liberty,  to  an  equitable  condition  of  society. 
Take  France  before  the  Revolution  (and  even  forget  the 
ameliorating  influence  of  time  in  softening  down  the 
asperities — an  influence  that  makes  us  look  with  almost 
calm  indifference  at  deeds  however  dark,  provided  they 


THE  THEORY  OF  UUMAN  PROGRESSION.  71 

are  far  enough  removed),  and  ask  what  Romanism  had 
done  for  France  ?  See  brute  carnality  pursued  intention- 
ally, see  despotism  not  even  arrested  at  the  oubliettes, 
see  a  peasantry  taught  lies  by  the  priest,  while  the  farm- 
ers of  the  taxes  ground  them  into  madness  and  despera- 
tion, the  state  corrupt  in  every  function,  the  best  and  the 
most  industrious  part  of  the  population  expatriated  or 
destroyed,  and  liberty  of  thought  uprooted  by  the  sabres 
of  the  soldiery.  When  at  last  (without  the  aid  of  what 
is  called  Protestantism)  the  very  people,  who  from  infancy 
had  been  taught  to  reverence  the  priest  and  his  mysteries, 
could  no  longer  believe  his  lies,  what  could  be  expected  ? 
.When  everything  had  been  so  corrupted  that  France 
was  rotten  to  the  core,  and  there  remained  no  single  bond 
that  could  keep  the  nation  together  as  a  society ;  and 
when  the  very  light  of  reason,  that  professed  to  teach 
nothing,  destroyed  the  superstitions  of  the  priest  and  un- 
hinged the  credence  of  the  nation ;  when  the  priest  was 
found  a  deceiver  and  the  ruler  a  despot,  and  men's  reason 
told  them  that  it  was  so,  even  without  the  Bible ;  and 
when  all  religious  credence  was  swept  away  in  the  reac- 
tion of  the  poisoned  intellect — what  could  we  expect? 
And  can  it  be  supposed,  that  Russia  and  Austria  have 
nothing  of  the  kind  in  store  ?  Will  ignorance  remain 
there  forever,  and  teach  men  that  though  they  have  a  rea- 
son" they  must  not  exercise  it,  but  be,  like  the  beasts  of 
the  field,  subject  to  their  master?  Some  may  think  that 
"  to-morrow  shall  be  as  to-day,  and  much  more  abun- 
dant." "  God  forbid !  "  must  be  the  prayer  of  every  free- 
man. 

The  degradation  of  the  causes  of  natural  phenomena  en- 
tailed some  of  the  most  horrid  cruelties  that  have  stained 
the  history  of  the  world.  God  was  dethroned  from  the 
realm  of  nature  as  wejl  as  from  the  realm  of  religion ;  and 
when  virgins,  saints,  old  bones,  and  bits  of  wood  became  the 
objects  of  men's  worship,  witches  and  sorcerers  were  the 


72  THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION, 

minor  deities  of  nature,  and  the  causes  of  phenomena. 
The  priest,  however,  had  the  power,  and,  as  he  dealt  in 
miracles  himself,  the  witches  trenched  too  closely  on  his 
domain,  and  he  removed  them  by  a  process  more  frantic- 
ally cruel  than  that  by  which  he  himself  was  afterwards 
removed  by  the  few  insane  atheists  of  France.  The  terri- 
ble crimes  that  were  committed,  under  the  pretext  of 
punishing  witchcraft,  show  us  that  nature  as  well  as  re- 
ligion was  provided  with  an  inquisition  by  the  priest; 
and  the  multitudes  of  sorcerers  who  were  immolated  in 
the  middle  ages,  were  as  much  the  victims  of  nature 
misinterpreted,  as  the  martyr  Christians  were  the 
victims  of  a  false  theology.  Truth,  in  either  case,  would 
have  prevented  the  commission  of  the  crimes. 

Not  only,  however,  does  Popery  destroy  the  elements 
of  freedom,  it  uproots  that  most  pure  and  most  holy  of 
all  man's  natural  sentiments — patriotism.  Some  have 
come  to  speculate  about  the  country  that  produces  most 
food,  most  population,  most  machinery,  and  most  etc.  etc. 
as  if  that  were  necessarily  the  best  country.  Granted,  if 
man  were  to  live  forever.  But  as  threescore  years  and 
ten  are  the  time  of  man's  days  upon  earth,  he  who  has  a 
country  has  but  one.  All  trade,  all  fairness,  all  peace,  all 
good-will  to  all  the  nations  in  the  world ;  but  yet  there 
is  a  country  for  which  something  else  is  reserved.  It  is 
not  merely  the  country  of  our  birth ;  that  is  an  accident 
that  goes  for  nothing  in  the  case  of  birth  abroad.  It  is 
the  land  of  our  fathers,  the  land  of  our  hopes,  the  land  of 
our  language,  the  land  of  our  affections,  and  the  land  of 
our  heart.  It  is  the  land  that  we  should  stand  with  or 
fall  with.  Were  there  ten  thousand  Tamerlanes  ravaging 
the  earth,  we  might  look  on  as  spectators ;  it  might,  or  it 
might  not,  be  our  duty  to  interfere.  But  our  land  is  the 
land  of  our  sanctuary,  on  which  foreman's  foot  is  the  im- 
press of  pollution  ;  and,  so  long  as  there  beats  a  patriot's 
heart,  there  will  be  found  the  patriot's  sword.  Nothing 


THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION.  73 

in  the  history  of  the  world  ever  struck  patriotism  dead, 
save  the  blasphemous  doctrines  of  Home.  Search  all 
history  for  a  thousand  years,  read  tales  and  legends,  and 
records  of  all  that  has  come  down  of  Papal  Roman  his- 
tory, and  say  if  you  can  find  one  single  Roman  patriot. 
Ask  if  there  be  one  man  in  all  that  city,  and  that  state, 
whose  heart  has  beat  for  Rome,  and  whose  hand  grasped 
a  patriot's  brand  on  the  threshold  of  his  fathers.  Saxons 
and  Franks,  Northmen,  Genoese,  Pisans,  Venetians, 
Sicilians,  Burgundians,  Flemings,  Spaniards,  Moors,  Nor- 
mans, Europeans,  Africans,  and  Asiatics,  all  the  races 
that  ran  to  seek  a  country,  or  stayed  to  defend  one,  have 
left  a  name  in  the  annals  of  the  age.  And  where  amidst 
them  all  is  the  Roman  ?  Rome  fought,  but  not  with 
Romans.  She  who  buys  and  sells  souls,  and  purgatorial 
fires,  and  redemption  with  a  bloodless  sacrifice,  bought 
and  sold  men,  and  hired  the  arms  of  hirelings. 

Rome  taught  men  that  they  might  fight  here  to-day, 
there  to-morrow,  and  sell  their  swords  for  gold.  .  Men 
fought  because  it  was  their  trade,  and  worked  for  the 
employer  that  gave  most;  wages — wretches  without  a 
country,  fit  emblems  of  their  instructor.  Patriotism  was 
disbanded  save  with  the  peasant  cultivators  of  the  soil, 
who  still  could  fight  for  their  homes,  like  the  tiger  for 
his  lair. 

Whatever  may  be  said  of  the  material  benefits  of  coun- 
tries, one  thing  is  certain,  a  country  where  there  is  no 
patriotism  is  not  safe  for  a  day.  Patriotism  is  a  country's 
true  strength ;  for  where  there  is  no  patriotism  there 
is  no  bond  of  union.  When  France  was  patriotic,  and 
trusted  her  frontier  to  her  peasantry,  all  the  armies  of 
Europe  could  set  no  foot  upon  her  soil.  But  when  men 
fought  for  the  Emperor,  and  not  for  their  country,  France 
was  humbled  in  the  dust.  Ten  grains  of  true  patriotism 
would  have  saved  Spain,  Italy,  and  Germany  from  Napo- 
leon ;  but,  alas  !  "  they  had  them  not,"  and,  what  is  more, 


74  THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION. 

never  will  have,  and  never  can  have,  till  Roman  priest- 
craft is  destroyed. 

But  time  rolled  on,  and  night  was  drawing  to  a  close. 
Broken  gleams  of  light  flickered  here  and  there,  to  give 
warning  of  the  coming  day.  Day  broke  at  last,  and  nature 
was  emancipated  from  the  mystic  folds  of  superstition. 
The  great  turning-point  of  modern  times  was,  when  the 
doctrine  of  constant  repetition  of  similar  phenomena  in 
similar  conditions  was  substituted  for  the  dread  of  un- 
seen, and  too  often  malevolent,  agency. 

Man  learned  at  last  to  bend  his  eye  on  the  phenomenon, 
accurately  to  observe  the  conditions,  and  accurately  to 
measure  the  change.  Physical  truth  was  the  result  of 
this  operation,  so  simple,  now  we  know  it,  yet  of  such 
vast  importance  to  the  welfare  of  the  world.  Superstition 
here  received  its  blow  of  death ;  and,  just  in  proportion 
as  the  inductive  philosophy  (in  physical  science)  was 
received  and  cultivated,  so  was  man  emancipated  from 
the  terrors  of  unseen  agency,  and  the  phenomena  of  na- 
ture were  fixed  on  a  stable  basis  that  invited  man  con- 
stantly to  further  inquiry. 

But  what  had  become  of  the  causes  1  The  immense 
revolution  that  had  taken  place  in  man's  view  of  nature, 
was  accompanied  by  another  revolution  that  went  far  to 
destroy  the  priestcraft  of  Rome,  and  to  bring  man  back 
to  the  spiritual  worship  of  his  Creator.  The  Bible  had 
been  resuscitated,  and  some  at  all  events  had  learned  to 
love  the  pure  beauty  of  religion  as  taught  by  God,  and  to 
forsake  the  doctrines  of  devils  as  taught  by  man.  In- 
stead of  stocks,  and  stones,  and  graven  images,  and  the 
remnants  of  the  human  frame,  men  learned  to  bow  the 
knee  to  Him  who  sitteth  on  the  throne  of  righteousness, 
and  to  confide  in  the  God  of  heaven,  who  had  sent  his 
Son  for  the  redemption  of  the  world. 

The  causes  were  now  no  longer  beings,  but  the  laws  by 
which  the  one  God  carries  on  the  government  of  the 


TUE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION.  75 

material  world.  No  wonder  that  Rome  will  have  no 
science. 

But  has  this  view  of  nature  a  direct  bearing  on  the 
political  condition  of  mankind  ?  No  doubt  of  it  whatever. 
Those  who  have  advocated  the  utilitarian  theory  are  true 
benefactors  to  their  country  ;  and,  though  we  may  take 
occasion  to  advert  to  the  cases  in  which  that  theory  has 
been  carried  altogether  out  of  its  legitimate  province, 
we  of  course  accept  it  to  its  utmost  extent  in  those 
matters  that  come  within  its  range.  But  what  is  the 
utilitarian  theory,  and  what  is  its  connection  with  in- 
ductive philosophy  ? 

Let  us  suppose  men  legislating  on  a  theological  prin- 
ciple (no  matter  what),  and  carrying  out  their  laws  by 
force.  Let  us  suppose  an  inductive  philosopher  beginning 
at  the  effects  of  these  laws,  carefully  collecting  the  statis- 
tics of  the  things  he  can  observe,  and  arranging  them 
into  an  exhibition  of  facts.  Let  us  suppose  that  these 
facts  (as  it  is  most  likely  they  would)  show  the  results  of 
the  legislation  to  have  been  eminently  detrimental  to  the 
great  body  of  the  population.  Suppose  he  publishes  these 
details.  Of  course  those  who  legislate  on  a  theological 
principle  care  nothing  about  consequences ;  for  if  the 
principle  be  correct,  the  legislation  is  a  duty  at  all  haz- 
ards. Now,  what  is  to  be  done  ?  Of  course,  if  the  popu- 
lace are  not  quite  so  certain  about  the  principle  as  the 
legislators  are,  they  might  begin  to  suspect  a  mistake  in 
the  rulers'  method  of  proceeding,  and  perhaps  they  might 
weigh  the  statistics  against  the  theology,  and  give  the 
preference  to  the  former.  This  is  very  likely.  Now, 
what  course  have  the  rulers  ?  Either  to  abandon  their 
legislation,  or  to  expel  the  philosopher,  and  prevent  all 
further  inquiries  of  the  kind.  But  suppose  the. inductive 
mode  of  judging  of  legislative  acts  should  happen  to 
procure  free  course,  it  is  quite  impossible  that  facts,  mere 
facts,  should  not  tell  on  the  country  in  the  long  run,  and 


76  THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION. 

that  reasonings  upon  those  facts  should  not  spring  up  in 
every  man's  mind,  and  cause  him  to  throw  all  his  weight 
into  every  change  in  which  he  could  see  his  own,  and  the 
interest  of  his  fellows  involved. 

But  suppose  a  new  light  were  to  break  upon  the  nation. 
Suppose  men  should  happen  to  reflect  that  facts  come 
from  the  operations  of  the  laws  of  God,  and  suppose  the 
thought  should  strike  them  that  God  is  a  benevolent  and 
a  just  God — that  he  made  a  good  world,  gave  it  good 
laws,  and  that  social  evils  spring  from  man's  injustice  to 
his  fellow,  and  from  the  wrong  way  in  which  things  have 
been  divided.  Suppose  the  idea  should  go  abroad  that 
God  is  no  respecter  of  persons,  but  that  perhaps  the  wel- 
fare of  a  peasant  is  of  as  much  value  in  the  eyes  of  Him 
who  doeth  all  things  well,  as  the  welfare  of  a  king. 
Now,  suppose  to  these  reflections  were  joined  another  or 
two,  that  God  made  man's  reason,  and  made  man  to 
hate  pain  and  flee  from  it;  and  also  that  man's  nature 
obliges  him  to  live  in  society,  and  that  societies  may  make 
mistakes,  as  the  child  does  who  puts  his  finger  into  the 
flame,  and  that  the  pain  is  to  teach  him  to  beware  in 
future.  Were  such  notions  to  go  abroad,  it  is  perfectly 
evident  that  the  inductive  philosophy,  when  it  found  out 
evils  and  suffering  attending  legislative  acts,  would  come, 
backed  with  the  authority  of  Him  who  made  the  laws  of 
nature,  and  it  would  lead  to  the  belief  that  the  welfare 
of  the  great  masses  of  the  population  was  never  sacrificed 
to  procure  the  wealth  of  the  few,  without  God's  displeas- 
ure being  always  made  manifest  in  the  suffering  that 
ensued.  Not  that  this  suffering  was  a  miraculous  in- 
terference, but  the  result  of  the  ordinary  laws  which  God 
has  made  for  the  government  of  the  world. 

Suppose,  however,  one  more  principle  should  be  admit- 
ted, namely,  that  "  that  which  is  just  is  beneficial,  and  for 
the  good  of  the  greatest  number."  Suppose  men  should 
reflect  that  induction  requires  time  and  knowledge  before 


THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION.  77 

it  can  be  brought  to  perfection,  and  that  God  endowed 
man  with  and  priori  principle  of  justice,  to  enable  him  to 
steer  clear  of  injuring  his  fellow,  even  where  the  inductive 
evidence  should  not  be  at  hand.  Suppose  the  results  of 
this  justice  and  of  this  induction  should  happen  to  turn 
out  always  and  invariably  coincident,  and  although  pur- 
suing different  paths  to  reach  the  same  end,  yet  the  end 
arrived  at  never  was  different. 

Were  all  this  admitted  (and  though  it  takes  many 
words  to  tell  it,  perhaps  it  might  be  seen  all  at  one  view), 
it  is  plain  that  the  inductive  method  of  examining  the 
condition  of  the  country  would  have  a  most  direct  and 
most  powerful  influence  on  the  legislation  of  the  country. 
Where  suffering  was  considered  not  the  mere  accident  of 
chance,  nor  the  work  of  a  malevolent  spirit,  but  the  voice 
of  a  just  and  benevolent  God,  telling  men  to  amend  the 
order  of  society,  and  to  return  to  those  elementary  prin- 
ciples of  justice  that  He  had  implanted  in  their  mind — 
surely  we  can  see  that  the  progress  of  this  nation  must 
be  very  different  from  the  progress  of  that  nation  from 
which  inductive  philosophy  was  banished,  and  where  men 
legislated  for  themselves  and  pretended  to  be  legislating 
for  God. 

Next  to  a  rational  view  of  nature  comes  a  true  philoso- 
phy of  the  mind  and  of  the  mental  operations.  It  might 
be  supposed  that  this  could  have  little  influence  on  the 
political  condition  of  a  nation  ;  and  if  all  the  great  truths 
relating  to  man  were  not  so  inseparably  linked  together, 
that  error  in  the  one  usually  involves  or  implies  error  in 
the  other,  perhaps,  taken  alone,  it  might  be  of  no  great 
importance.  But  from  some  cause  or  other,  speculative 
errors  about  man  have  usually  involved  speculative  errors 
about  God,  and  speculative  errors  about  God  have  usually 
unhinged  the  whole  framework  of  human  duty,  and 
obscured  the  distinction  between  right  and  wrong.  This 
subject  the  reader  will  find  discussed  in  the  first  vol- 


78  THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION. 

ume  of  M.  Cousin's  "  History  of  the  Moral  Philosophy  of 
the  Eighteenth  Century,"  where  he  traces,  with  a  grace 
peculiar  to  himself,  the  doctrine  of  "  no  causes  but  phys- 
ical causes "  to  the  "  sensation "  school  of  mental 
philosophy.* 

Of  M.  Cousin's  work,  it  is  perhaps  impossible  to  speak 
too  highly,  and  we  rejoice  to  see  so  eminent  a  man,  and 
so  candid  a  reasoner,  speaking  out  for  the  natural  prin- 
ciples of  duty,  declaring  his  honest  conviction,  that  as  a 
philosopher  he  finds  a  law  of  justice  written  in  the  con- 
stitution of  man.  At  the  same  time,  we  cannot  but  hope 
that  those  who  adopt  that  philosophy,  will  not  confine 
themselves  to  the  general  idea  of  a  just  and  righteous 
God  made  manifest  through  the  glorious  works  of  nature 
and  of  mind,  but  continue  in  the  onward  path  of  truth, 
and  really  investigate  with  the  same  candor  the  authen- 
ticity of  the  Bible.  For  ourselves  we  cannot  speak  as  if 
the  Bible  were  not  a  revelation,  or  even  as  if  it  were  a 
collection  of  doubtful  documents ;  and  therefore  we  can- 
not speculate  as  if  there  were  a  question  as  to  whether 
God  has  revealed  himself  directly,  as  well  as  by  necessary 
inference,  from  his  works.  Christianity  is  never  to  be 
found  in  nature,  although  religion  is;  and  The  Christ, 
the  Son  of  the  living  God,  equal  and  one  with  the  Father, 
forms  as  necessary  a  part  of  all  true  acceptance  with  God, 
and  of  all  present  religion  (now  since  the  fall),  as  the 
most  clear  acknowledgment  of  the  Creator.  When  we 
confine  ourselves  purely  to  philosophy,  and  ask  what  may 
be  learnt  by  the  unaided  exercise  of  the  reason,  we  do  well 
so  long  as  we  do  not  advance  our  results  to  the  exclusion 
of  revelation  ;  but  when  we  form  a  system  of  philosophy 

*  The  doctrine  of  no  causes  but  physical  causes,  is  said  to  have  pro- 
duced, perhaps,  the  most  frightful  exclamation  that  ever  crossed  the  lips 
of  man,  "  Nous  pouvons  faire  ce  que  nous  voulons,  il  u'y-a  pas  de  Dieu  !  " 
said  to  have  been  uttered  by  the  rabble  at  Arras,  as  the  executioner's  cart 
tracked  its  way  with  blood.  Fit  doctrine  to  fit  deed. 


THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION.  79 

from  nature,  however  perfect  that  system  may  be,  we 
suggest  that  it  is  not  logical  to  predicate  anything  what- 
ever about  the  reality  or  unreality  of  a  revelation  with- 
only  that  philosophy  for  the  premises.  Nothing  what- 
ever is  capable  of  being  the  premises  of  the  question 
of  revelation,  except  the  evidence  on  which  any  particular 
revelation  is  stated  to  be  founded.  And  although  the 
attributes  of  the  Deity  are  made  evident  through  nature, 
we  must  never  from  that  leap  to  the  conclusion,  that  God 
has  not  made  known  his  particular  acts,  which  could 
never  be  inferred,  as  we  can  infer  his  attributes.  "  God 
that  made  the  world  and  all  things  therein,  seeing  that 
he  is  Lord  of  heaven  and  earth,  dwelleth  not  in  temples 
made  with  hands ;  neither  is  worshipped  with  men's 
hands,  as  though  he  needed  anything,  seeing  he  giveth 
to  all  life,  and  breath,  and  all  things ;  and  hath  made  of 
one  blood  all  nations  of  men  for  to  dwell  on  all  the  face 
of  the  earth,  and  hath  determined  the  times  before  ap- 
pointed, and  the  bounds  of  their  habitation ;  that  they 
should  seek  the  Lord,  if  haply  they  might  feel  after  him, 
and  find  him,  though  he  be  not  far  from  every  one  of  us : 
For  in  him  we  live,  and  move,  and  have  our  being ;  as  cer- 
tain also  of  your  own  poets  have  said,  For  we  are  also  his 
offspring.  Forasmuch  then  as  we  are  the  offspring  of 
God,  we  ought  not  to  think  that  the  Godhead  is  like  unto 
gold,  or  silver,  or  stone,  graven  by  art  and  man's  device. 
And  the  times  of  this  ignorance  God  winked  at ;  but  now 
commandeth  all  men  everywhere  to  repent :  Because  he 
hath  appointed  a  day,  in  the  which  he  will  judge  the 
world  in  righteousness  by  that  man  whom  he  hath  or- 
dained ;  whereof  he  hath  given  assurance  unto  all  men, 
in  that  he  hath  raised  him  from  the  dead." — PAUL'S  Ad- 
dress to  the  Athenians. 

But  what,  after  all,  is  the  sum  and  substance  of  our 
argument  concerning  the  combination  of  knowledge  and 
reason  ?  Merely  this,  that  correct  credence  is  absolutely 


80         '/'///•;  TIIKOUY  OF  //r.i/.i.v  ritof;r;i-:ssi(>\. 

essential  to  the  human  race,  before  that  race  can  know 
and  work  out  its  own  wellbeing. 

The  elements  of  this  correct  credence  are,  1st,  The 
Bible.  2d,  A  correct  view  of  the  phenomena  of  material 
nature.  3d,  A  correct  philosophy  of  the  mental  opera- 
tions.* 

1st,  The  Bible.  There  is  but  one  truth,  and,  if  the 
Bible  system  be  true,  every  other  system  must  be  erro- 
neous, and  must  lead  to  a  course  of  action  prejudicial  to 
mankind.  The  question  is  not  as  to  the  necessity  of  all 
men  becoming,  what  is  sometimes  termed  religious,  but 
as  to  the  general  acceptance  or  rejection  of  that  system 
of  revealed  knowledge  which  is  contained  in  the  Bible 
alone ;  and,  when  we  consider  how  vast  an  amount  of 
information  is  there  afforded  us  respecting  man,  man's 
nature,  and  man's  destiny,  we  see  at  once,  that  if  all  that 
information  be  correct  and  be  rejected,  men  shut  them- 
selves out  from  the  light,  and  plunge  wilfully  into  vague 
and  hopeless  darkness.  So  far  from  the  Bible  being  in 
opposition  to  the  reason  of  mankind,  the  Bible  is  the  great 
emancipator  of  the  reason ;  the  first  great  influence  that 
delivers  man  from  the  empire  of  passion  and  superstition* 
and  leaves  him  free  to  exercise  those  faculties  with  which 
the  Creator  has  endowed  his  intellect.  Sceptics  may 
frame  their  sophisms,  and  point  incredulously  to  its 
insoluble  mysteries ;  but  History  dashes  their  sophisms 
into  the  dust,  and  shows  us  the  great  evolution  of 

*  We  do  not,  in  this  place,  enter  on  the  subject  of  moral  science ;  having 
to  treat  it  more  specially  hereafter.  A  correct  philosophy  of  the  mental 
operations  would  of  course  include  the  science  of  equity,  but  a  science  of 
equity  there  c;innot  possibly  be,  so  long  as  there  is  a  sensational  philoso- 
phy; and  therefore  we  have  affirmed,  that  a  correct  mental  philosophy  is 
essential  to  human  welfare.  At  the  conclusion  of  the  volume,  we  shall 
endeavor  to  show  how  a  genuine  philosophy  may  become  possible,  and 
pii.-siblo  in  such  a  manner  as  to  cast  aside  dispute.  Philosophy,  strictly 
speaking,  can  never  assume  a  satisfactory  form  until  the  whole  of  the 
direct  sciences  are  completed,  and  then  philosophy  will  become  purely 
critical. 


THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION.          81 

freedom  and  civilization  taking  place  under  the  shadow 
of  revealed  truth,  while  the  mass  of  the  earth's  in- 
habitants struggle  helplessly  onward  in  a  vain  endeavor  to 
deliver  themselves  from  the  evils  that  inseparably  accom- 
pany superstition.  No  truth  can  be  more  certain,  than  that 
the  welfare  of  the  human  race  is  wrapped  up  in  the 
universal  acceptance  of  the  Bible  as  the  word  of  God,  and 
the  only  true  source  from  which  man  must  draw  the  first 
great  facts  in  which  all  the  children  of  men  are  irrevocably 
implicated. 

2d,  A  correct  view  of  natural  phenomena.  In  this  two 
things  are  implied:  1st,  A  knowledge  of  natural  phe- 
nomena (science) ;  and,  2d,  The  attribution  of  those  phe- 
nomena to  their  true  cause.  If  God  be  the  creator  of  the 
universe,  God  is  also  the  physical  governor  of  the  uni- 
verse; and  as  such  we  must  regard  the  occurrences  of 
nature  as  the  results  of  the  laws  established  by  him. 
And  when  once  men  shall  really  awake  to  the  conviction, 
that  the  social  evils  of  the  community  (poverty  and  want,* 

*  That  poverty  and  want  have  a  direct  tendency  to  produce  crime,  is  a 
fact  which  may  be  ascertained  inductively  in  the  same  manner  as  any 
general  fact  or  principle  is  ascertained  and  established  in  the  physical 
sciences.  If  prevention  be  better  than  cure,  it  is  most  certainly  better 
than  punishment,  which  has  proved  itself,  in  the  general  history  of  the 
world,  to  be  the  clumsiest  and  most  inefficient  means  of  preventing  crime 
that  has  ever  been  employed  towards  a  population.  There  is  a  vast  dif- 
ference between  the  man  who  is  by  habit  and  repute  a  criminal,  and  the 
man  who  is  led  to  commit  crime  under  certain  circumstances  of  social 
distress.  Almost  every  man  in  the  world  is  of  such  a  nature  that  he 
would  commit  crime  in  certain  circumstances ;  and  this  very  fact  should 
point  out  the  necessity  of  reforming  the  circumstances,  as  well  as  endeav- 
oring to  restrain  the  offenders  by  threats  of  consequent  infliction.  So  in- 
timately is  crime  connected  with  the  physical  condition  of  the  population, 
that  it  may  almost  be  said  to  fluctuate  with  the  price  of  provisions  and 
the  demand  for  labor ;  and  the  only  sure  mode  of  reducing  it  to  a  mini- 
mum, is  to  remove  those  political  obstacles  which  prevent  the  cultivator 
and  the  laborer  from  reaping  their  natural  reward,  or  which  prevent  them 
from  employing  their  labor  on  earth,  which  God  has  given  as  a  storehouse 
for  food,  but  which  the  laws  of  men  reduce  to  sterility  by  the  common 
system  of  landed  property.  How  many  thousands  of  criminal  Irishmen 
6 


82          THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION. 

with  the  accompaniments  of  crime,  ignorance,  and  disease) 
arise  from  an  infringement  of  certain  invariable  laws,  no 
more  uncertain  in  their  nature  than  those  which  regulate 
the  fall  of  a  stone  or  the  motion  of  a  planet,  we  may 
reasonably  expect  that  men  will  bend  their  eye  on  the 
phenomenon,  endeavor  to  ascertain  the  conditions  and 
forces  that  result  in  good  or  evil,  and  thus  to  discover  a 
natural  science  of  society  that  may  open  a  new  era  in  the 
history  of  civilization.  Induction  is  no  less  applicable  to 

might  be  made  useful  members  of  society,  by  allowing  them  to  cultivate 
the  land,  according  to  the  law  of  God's  word  and  of  God's  nature,  for  their 
own  profit!  Let  any  one  compare  the  following  statement  of  Irish  crime, 
with  the  price  of  provisions  in  Ireland  at  the  respective  periods,  and  deny, 
if  he  can,  the  same  inductive  relation  of  cause  and  effect  which  forms  the 
essence  of  all  physical  science  : — 

"OUTRAGES — Ireland,  October,  1847.— Returns  have  just  been  issued 
(pursuant  to  an  order  of  the  House  of  Lords,  dated  June  28),  stating  the 
number  and  kind  of  outrages  reported  by  the  constabulary  in  Ireland, 
from  the  month  of  June  1845,  to  the  month  of  May  1847,  inclusive.  This 
return  is  intended  as  a  continuation  of  the  sessional  paper,  No.  279  of  1845. 
The  results  of  this  latest  document  show  a  fearful  and  extraordinary  in- 
crease of  crime  in  Ireland.  Thus  the  total  number  of  outrages  specially 
reported  to  the  constabulary  force  in  Ireland,  during  the  month  of  July 
1844,  was  552.  In  June  1845  the  number  was  896,  and  in  July  1845  it  was 
708.  In  September  of  the  same  year  it  was  552 ;  in  August  1846  it  was 
478 ;  while  in  the  following  month  it  had  increased  to  829.  In  October  the 
number  of  offences  again  increased  to  1482  (nearly  three  times  as  many  as 
during  the  corresponding  period  of  the  preceding  year) ;  in  November  last 
it  was  1761 ;  and  in  the  concluding  month  of  the  year  no  less  a  number 
than  2666  (upwards  of  four  times  as  many  as  in  December  1845).  Of  that 
number  1389  were  cases  of  cattle-stealing;  14 homicides  (in  one  month); 
22  cases  of  firing  at  the  person  ;  25  aggravated  assaults,  etc.  Thirty-five 
of  the  offences  were  of  an  agrarian  character.  In  the  first  month  of  the 
present  year  (1847),  the  number  of  offences  reported  by  the  constabulary 
in  Ireland  was  still  further  augmented,  for  it  amounted  to  2885  (1276  in 
Munster  alone).  In  May  it  was  2647,  of  which  number  1446  were  cases  of 
cattle-stealing;  while  in  the  May  preceding  there  were  only  69  of  these 
offences  reported.  The  return  from  which  these  results  are  extracted, 
does  not  come  lower  than  the  month  of  May.  During  the  two  years  in- 
Hudi-d  in  the  account  (June  1845  to  May  1847,  both  inclusive),  tli<>  total 
number  of  outrages  reported  by  the  constabulary  in  Ireland,  amounted  to 
no  fewer  than  29,302,  or  at  the  rate  of  more  than  40  outrages  every  day  in 
the  year."—  Witness,  October  30,  1847. 


THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION.  83 

the  phenomena  of  men  than  it  is  to  the  phenomena  of 
matter ;  and,  although  there  are  disturbing  causes  that 
render  the  study  more  complex  and  more  difficult,  we 
can  have  no  reason  for  supposing  that  the  same  stability 
that  prevails  in  the  inorganic  world,  does  not  also  prevail 
in  the  social  world  of  men,  and  entail  many  effects  which 
are  too  often  attributed  to  the  voluntary  volitions  of  the 
mind.  Not  that  there  are  no  phenomena  in  the  social 
world  which  cannot  be  accounted  for  by  physical  laws — 
for  this  would  obliterate  man's  moral  nature;  but  that 
certain  social  conditions  are  for  the  most  part  accompanied 
by  certain  social  phenomena,  which  may  be  studied  in 
the  same  manner  as  the  facts  of  any  other  science,  and 
made  the  basis  of  social  action  and  of  human  legislation. 

Thus  every  religion  and  every  political  system  may  be 
judged  of  inductively  (by  an  examination  of  the  condition 
of  the  people  where  it  prevails)  as  well  as  dogmatically, 
by  an  inquiry  into  its  own  inherent  nature ;  and  we  may, 
as  politicians,  pronounce  the  utter  condemnation  of  idol- 
atry, on  account  of  its  fruits  of  ignorance,  vice,  crime,  and 
detriment  to  the  social  condition  of  mankind  ;  while,  as 
theologians,  we  exhibit  its  falsity  and  error,  and  condemn 
it  because  its  credence  is  unsupported,  and  therefore 
superstitious.  It  is  true  that  this  view  may,  by  certain 
classes,  be  esteemed  a  low  one  ;  but  all  truth  is  worthy  of 
attention,  much  more  especially  that  which  affects  the 
social  condition  of  men,  because  these  effects,  that  may  be 
observed  by  the  natural  exercise  of  our  faculties,  must  be 
considered  as  the  results  of  God's  laws  operating  in  the 
world.  It  is  no  mean  advantage  to  truth,  that  she  has 
always  the  benefit  (the  common  worldly  benefit)  on  her 
side ;  neither  is  it  a  small  argument  against  any  erroneous 
system,  that  we  may  point  to  its  deadly  fruits,  and  show 
the  demoralizing  influence  of  its  operation. 

But  if  idolatry  may  be  judged  of  by  its  fruits,  so  may 
despotism,  so  may  slavery ;  so  may  restrictive  laws,  and 


84  THE  THEORY  OF  //r.U.LV  PROGRESSION. 

so  may  all  those  inventions  of  worldly  legislation,  by 
which  a  small  benefit  is  conferred  on  the  few  at  the  ex- 
pense of  the  mass  of  the  population.  And  these  effects, 
whatever  their  kind,  belong  to  a  natural  and  inductive 
science  of  society,  the  great  principles  of  which  remain 
the  same  in  all  ages  and  in  all  conditions,  however  much, 
or  however  little  advantage  may  have  been  derived  by  a 
nation  from  their  contemplation. 

3d,  A  correct  philosophy  of  the  mental  operations. 

When  ever  we  approach  what  is  termed  metaphysical 
philosophy,  we  feel  that  we  approach  a  quagmire,  over 
which  a  dense  mist  seems  to  hold  its  perpetual  habitation.* 
The  footing  is  all  unsound,  or  at  least  suspicious,  and  the 
little  light  there  is,  is  only  sufficient  to  confuse  and  per- 
plex us.  If  we  attempt  to  advance,  two  ultimate  and 
hitherto  impassable  objects  present  themselves  to  view. 
On  the  one  hand  is  the  bottomless  pit  of  scepticism,  and 
on  the  other  is  the  commanding  but  inaccessible  height  of 
absolute  truth.  Some,  wearied  with  vain  endeavors  to  scale 
the  precipice,  have  at  last,  as  if  despairingly,  advanced 
beyond  the  brink,  and  sunk  into  the  unfathomable  void  ; 

*  In  speaking  thus  of  metaphysical  philosophy,  we  do  not  speak  of  that 
genuine  philosophy  which  consists  in  the  enumeration  and  discussion  of 
the  primary  elements  and  propositions  of  human  credence,  but  of  that 
spurious  speculation  that  endeavors,  by  a  subtle  use  of  language,  and  of 
half-formed  thought,  to  uproot  the  foundations  of  truth.  Let  us  suppose 
that  every  man  in  the  world  immediately  gives  his  assent  to  the  necessary 
and  universal  truth  of  an  axiom  (no  matter  what).  Some  philosophers 
say,  "  But  your  axiom  is  only  a  subjective  conviction ;  now  prove  to  me  its 
objective  truth."  The  most  definite  reply  to  this  objection,  and  one  which 
the  sceptic  may  fail  to  get  over  with  all  his  ingenuity,  is  this,  "  Give  me 
a  definition  of  objective  truth."  Axioms  are,  it  is  true,  incapable  of  proof; 
but  why?  because  they  are  the  standards  of  all  other  prepositional  truth 
whatever.  The  idealist  on  the  other  hand  accepts  truth,  but  confuses  the 
question  of  reality.  The  fact  \ve  believe  to  be.  that  if  truth  and  reality 
were  fairly  defined,  and  not  jumbled  together  in  a  kind  of  mysterious 
way,  both  the  sceptic  and  the  idealist  (the  Berkleyian)  would  at  once  be 
convicted  of  introducing  a  new  term  into  their  conclusion,  and  making  a 
palpable  logical  fallacy. 


THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION.  85 

while  others,  startled  at  the  plunge,  have  flattered  them- 
selves that,  by  some  mighty  effort  of  their  own  faith  or 
imagination,  they  could  compensate  for  the  reality,  that 
could  only  be  obtained  by  setting  the  foot  on  the  summit 
and  casting  the  eye  over  universal  nature. 

Between  scepticism  on  the  one  hand,  and  the  dog- 
matism of  unsupported  faith  on  the  other,  philosophy  has 
slowly  swayed  backwards  and  forwards,  leaving  man  as 
little  farther  advanced  in  ontology  as  he  was  five  hundred, 
or  a  thousand,  or  two  thousand  years  since. 

To  suppose,  however,  that  philosophy  is  the  useless 
jargon  that  some  writers  appear  desirous  of  representing, 
because  it  has  failed  to  solve  the  great  problem,  namely, 
"How  can  objective  existence  be  rationally  substan- 
tiated?" is  surely  to  look  at  history  with  only  one  eye. 
Philosophy  has  failed;  that  is,  the  human  intellect  has 
failed;  that  is,  man  as  man  has  failed;  that  is,  in  fact, 
that  after  all  the  mental  toil  of  the  greatest,  the  problem 
appears  insoluble,  and  seems  to  teach  us  that  humanity 
cannot  arrive  at  objective  truth  by  its  own  unaided 
efforts ;  neither,  we  candidly  confess,  does  it  appear  to 
us  to  be  of  the  slightest  importance  whether  it  can  or 
cannot. 

Grant  that  scepticism  in  philosophy  is  the  ultimate 
result  of  all  investigation;  let  us  only  be  consistent,  and 
make  that  scepticism  universal,  and  the  bugbear  of  scep- 
ticism disappears  forever.  Let  us  write  a  plus  or  a 
minus,  a  sign  positive  or  a  sign  negative,  before  all  our 
knowledge,  and  what  difference  can  it  possibly  make? 
— knowledge  remains  the  same  in  all  its  relative  propor- 
tions ;  and  all  that  man  has  really  ascertained  to  be  true, 
remains  as  permanently  stable,  and  as  really  capable  of 
application,  as  if  ten  thousand  syllogisms  had  proven  that 
knowledge  was  truth,  and  that  the  axiomatic  credence  of 
mankind  was  really  veracious.  Scepticism,  whatever  be 
its  dangers,  is  only  dangerous  when  partially  applied,  and 


80  THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  I'HOUllEStSION. 

when  we  apparently  undermine  one  branch  of  knowledge 
by  insisting  on  rational  proof,  while  at  the  same  time  we 
admit  as  much,  and  perhaps  infinitely  more,  without  any 
process  of  proof  whatever,  but  merely  because  we  are  con- 
strained to  believe.  When  one  man  shall  have  demon- 
strated  to  another  man  his  own  existence  (and  the  most 
sceptical  of  the  sceptics  admits  the  existence  of  the  me), 
it  will  then  be  time  to  substantiate  objective  existence,  by 
a  process  of  proof  that  can  have  no  difficulties,  when  once 
the  proof  of  the  .one  me  is  furnished  to  the  other.  If  we 
will  be  sceptics,  let  us  be  consistent;  and  let  us  write  our 
sign  negative,  not  merely  before  objective  knowledge,  but 
before  the  existence  of  that  me,  whose  existence  is  abso- 
lutely as  incapable  of  every  approach  to  rational  proof  as 
is  the  existence  of  an  external  world.* 

When,  however,  we  take  the  existence  of  the  me  for 
granted,  and  then  insist  that  other  objective  existence 
should  produce  a  proof  of  which  it  is  incapable,  our  scep- 
ticism is  not  only  dangerous  but  fatal,  and  the  tangled 
web  of  sophistry  is  made  to  envelop  certain  subjects,  as 
if  they,  and  they  only,  were  shrouded  in  obscurity.  To 
proceed  in  this  manner,  is  no  more  rational  than  it  would 

*  It  is  commonly  supposed,  that  philosophic  scepticism  has  some 
mysterious  power  to  unhinge  the  very  framework  of  morals.  Now 
suppose  that,  after  all,  the  whole  of  man's  knowledge  should  1><; 
proven  subjective,  what  difference  can  it  make  ?  Suppose  a  subjective. 
man  is  arrested  by  a  subjective  policeman,  tried  by  a  subjective  jury, 
and  condemned  to  subjective  imprisonment — is  the  pain  the  less  real 
because  it  is  subjective?  Or,  to  extend  the  argument,  suppose  the 
whole  system  of  morals  should  be  subjective,  and  that  there  shall  be 
a  subjective  day  of  judgment,  and  a  subjective  eternity.  What  dif- 
ference could  the  mere  mode  of  expression  make  ?  If  scepticism  were 
practical,  it  would  save  from  terrestrial  consequences  and  terrestrial 
pain ;  and,  if  it  cannot  do  so,  it  makes  the  most  groundless  assump- 
tion when  it  proposes  to  abolish  future  punishment.  Even  if  matter 
were  only  an  idea,  it  is  plain  that  pain  is  to  be  avoided,  even  if  it  were 
only  subje.etive ;  and  consequently,  if  criminality  of  action  brings 
pain,  it  is  plain  that  the  most  certain  of  all  knowledge  is  morals.  The 
moral  law  is  abiding,  whatever  view  may  be  taken  of  matter. 


THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION.  87 

be  to  take  objective  existence  for  granted,  and  then  to 
reflect  on  the  me,  and  imperatively  to  demand  its  rational 
proof.  Rational  proof  there  is  none,  either  in  the  one  case 
or  the  other ;  for  the  me  is  as  really  objective  to  all  our 
consciousness,  as  is  matter  or  universal  mind.  We  are 
conscious  of  mental  phenomena  alone ;  and  the  me  is  as 
far  removed  from  immediate  appreciation,  as  is  any  other 
substantive  existence  that  our  race  admits  with  persever- 
ing universality.  Let  us  only  make  scepticism  (philos- 
ophic scepticism),  absolutely  universal,  and  the  founda- 
tions of  real  knowledge  are  laid  anew,  and  the  glorious 
edifice  of  science  acquires  its' fair  proportions,  and  becomes 
the  settled  home  of  man's  intellect,  where  he  may  dwell  in 
peace  and  safety,  having  buried  scepticism  in  a  grave  of 
its  own  digging.* 

*  There  is  one  argument  which  appears  to  us  valid  against  all  phi- 
losophers who  admit  the  me,  and  require  rational  proof  of  the  existence 
of  the  me  not.  Let  vis  grant  that  all  the  external  material  world  may 
come  to  be  viewed  by  that  philosopher  as  an  assemblage  of  the  sensa- 
tions or  phenomena  of  the  me.  This  may,  perhaps,  be  possible,  but 
these  philosophers  use  arguments  and  write  books.  Now,  for  what 
purpose  arc  these  books  written?  Surely  not  to  convince  the  me,  for 
the  nw  is  supposed  convinced  already,  but  to  convince  some  other  me, 
that  is,  some  objective  mental  existence  which  can  never,  even  by  the 
utmost  stretch  of  scepticism,  be  confounded  with  the  we  personal. 
An  argument  is  to  convince  a  mind ;  and  assuredly  that  mind  never 
made  a  sensual  impression  on  the  sceptic.  Nothing  in  the  shape  of  a 
sensual  impression,  nothing  in  the  shape  of  observation,  nothing  in 
the  shape  of  phenomenal  affection,  could  ever  be  experienced  by  the 
sceptic  of  that  mind,  whose  existence  he  takes  for  granted  when  he- 
endeavors  to  convince  it.  Every  philosopher  who  writes  a  book  or 
uses  an  argument,  appears  to  us  to  admit  objective  existence  in  a 
manner  that  is  not  liable  to  the  reply  usually  given  to  his  admission 
of  the  material  world.  That  we  have  granted  may  be  phenomenal ; 
but  when  he  acts  for  the  conviction  of  a  judgment  by  publishing  an 
argument,  will  it,  or  can  it,  be  advanced  that  that  judgment  is  phe- 
nomenal?— is  it  not  absolutely  and  essentially  another  me  perfectly 
distinct  and  perfectly  distinguished  from  everything  that  the  me 
who  writes  can  possibly  predicate  of  itself.  AVc  can  easily  imagine 
a  sceptic  viewing  men's  bodies  as  phenomena,  and  classing  them 
among  the  modifications  of  himself ;  but  when  he  endeavors  to  con- 


88  THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION. 

For  ourselves,  we  believe  that  scepticism  may  be  fairly 
met,  and  fairly  vanquished  by  the  most  strict  rules  of 
logic.  Its  stronghold  is  in  the  ambiguity  of  terms,  and 
in  the  use  of  terms  which  it  has  no  logical  right  to  use. 
Let  us,  however,  without  descending  into  abstract  dispu- 
tations, take  it  up  on  the  fact.  Scepticism  says,  "  You 
have  no  proof  for  the  objective  truth  of  your  subjective 
convictions."  We  deny  the  fact,  and  allege  that  an  ar- 
gument based  on  the  calculation  of  probabilities  would 
establish,  beyond  the  smallest  possibility  of,  doubt,  the 
objective  veracity  of  the  subjective  laws  of  reason.  The 
mathematical  sciences  are,  eVery  one  of  them, — namely, 
arithmetic,  algebra,  geometry,  and  statics, — purely  sub- 
jective; every  one  of  their  primary  propositions  is  an 
axiomatic  truth  taken  for  granted,  self-evident,  incapable 
of  question,  purely  abstract,  and  that  does  not  pronounce 
on  the  real  existence  of  any  concrete  reality  whatever. 
Now  how  comes  it,  that  when  these  subjective  sciences 
are  applied  to  matter,  an  entity  with  which  they  have 
nothing  to  do,  they  are  invariably  as  correct  as  when 
merely  contemplated  by  the  reason?  How,  if  the  sub- 
jective convictions  and  subjective  processes  of  the  reason 
are  not  correct,  can  an  astronomer  predict  the  return  of 
a  comet  ? — and  the  comet  does  return,  to  other  men's  per- 
ceptions, years  after  he  is  dead.  Scepticism  is  the  great- 
est imposition  that  ever  fooled  man's  reason,  yet  it  must 
be  fairly  met. 

Never,  perhaps,  was  the  absence  of  a  definition  pro- 
ductive of  so  much  fruitless  toil,  as  when  men  set  to  work 
on  philosophy.  It  had  been  well  if  philosophers  had 
definitely  laid  before  them  the  object  they  were  about  to 
pursue,  and  satisfied  themselves  that  the  means  of  arriving 

vince  their  judgments,  lie  thereby  substantiates  external  existence 
objective  to  himself ^  artd  utterly  incapable  of  ever  heinjj  reduced  to 
that  modification  of  the  we,  that  forms  the  essential  gnmmlwork  of 
the  sceptical  philosophy. 


THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION.  89 

at  their  end  were  really  within  their  reach.  What  is  the 
object  of  philosophy?  What  is  philosophy  ?  What  does 
a  man  propose  to  expound  when  he  teaches  philosophy  ? 
These  are  questions  usually  evaded  by  some  oblique  dis- 
sertation on  the  general  form  of  knowledge,  the  nature  of 
things,  etc.,  etc.,  and  the  definite  object  to  be  pursued  is 
never  ascertained.  For  a  long  period  philosophy  was 
ontology ;  that  is,  the  knowledge  of  being,  entirely  and 
exclusively  objective  in  its  character,  entirely  and  exclu- 
sively subjective  in  its  means  of  operation.  That  is,  men 
endeavored  to  substantiate  both  the  reality  and  the  form 
of  the  universe  in  their  own  minds,  without  the  connect- 
inglink,  evidence,  that  renders  one  form  of  thought  knowl- 
edge. There  was  no  evidence,  therefore  there  was  no 
knowledge.  With  such  a  system  the  abstract  sciences 
alone  are  possible,  as  in  them  the  evidence  is  subjective, 
and  supplied  by  the  rational  constitution  of  the  mind. 

The  Baconian  philosophy  broke  up  ontology,  by  supply- 
ing the  connecting  link  that  must  unite  the  object  and  the 
subject.  That  link  was  evidence,  and  that  evidence  was 
only  possible  by  means  of  observation.  Philosophy  now 
separated  into  two  parts — one  of  which  was  metaphysics, 
the  representative  of  the  ancient  philosophy  ;  and  science, 
the  new  philosophy  that  arose  from  the  new  method  of 
founding  knowledge  on  evidence. 

The  new  philosophy  has  advanced  with  wonderful 
strides,  enlightening  man's  intellect,  and  dispersing  in- 
numerable benefits,  which  reproduce  themselves  in  an  in- 
finity of  forms,  and  hold  out  hopes  of  great  and  permanent 
advantage  to  our  race.  The  old  philosophy  remains  much 
where  it  was  as  regards  its  nature,  but  in  a  very  different 
position  as  to  the  extent  of  the  ground  it  occupies. 

Atone  period  the  ontological  method  of  making  science 
(that  is,  the  method  of  making  science  without  evidence) 
was  universal.  It  was  applied  to  physics  as  well  as  to 
metaphysics,  and  its  domain  was  supposed  to  extend  over 


90  THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION. 

everything  that  could  become  the  subject  of  human  knowl- 
edge. Not  only  was  there  a  scholastic  theology,  but  a 
scholastic  series  of  assertions  with  regard  to  the  essence  of 
matter,  all  explanatory  of  observed  phenomena.  Alchemy, 
astrology,  etc.,  completed  the  circle,  and  reduced  to  art 
the  principles  of  dogmatic  assertion.  During  the  reign 
of  this  system,  it  is  worthy  of  remark  that  diversity  of  cre- 
dence and  contradiction  of  statement  were  just  as  preva- 
lent in  matters  of  physical  science,  as  they  now  are  in  mat- 
ters of  politics  and  philosophy. 

When,  however,  a  new  method  was  discovered,  diver- 
sity of  credence  and  the  ontological  system  retired  from 
all  those  regions  where  real  knowledge  was  acquired; 
and,  as  the  new  philosophy  extended  its  domain,  the  old 
philosophy  was  curtailed  in  its  sphere  of  operation,  and. 
restricted  to  those  subjects  that  have  not  yet  been  reduced 
to  scientific  ordination.  Thus  the  region  of  conflicting 
belief  was  one  of  indefinite  boundary,  or  rather  one  whose 
boundary  was  constantly  fluctuating  and  retiring  before 
the  advance  of  real  knowledge.  The  history  of  real  or 
positive  knowledge  might  almost  be  termed  the  history 
of  the  retrogression  of  philosophy ;  and  just  as  the  new 
method  was  enabled  to  substantiate  its  propositions  in 
such  a  manner,  that  all  who  investigated  the  evidence 
arrived  at  the  same  unity  of  credence,  was  philosophy 
constrained  to  abandon  its  ground,  and  to  retire  to  those 
heights  where  it  now  enjoys  but  a  precarious  authority. 

Let  us  now  firmly  lay  hold  of  the  fact,  that  philosophy 
at  one  period  pretended  to  explain  the  phenomena  of  the 
external  world,  and  that  philosophy  has  now  been  driven 
from  every  part  of  that  region  that  has  been  occupied  by 
positive  science. 

Can  nothing  be  learned  from  this  fact  ?  We  think  that 
something  can,  and  it  is  this — That  philosophy,  after  ret- 
rograding from  every  region  of  thought  to  which  man 
may  apply  his  attention,  shall  at  last  resolve  itself  into 


THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION.  91 

the  science  of  human  thought,  and  pronounce  nothing 
whatever  on  any  subject  that  is  not  merely  and  exclusively 
human  thought.  If  we  consider  knowledge,  we  shall  find 
that  it  implies  three  things,  the  object  (that  is,  the  uni- 
verse) ;  the  subject  (that  is,  the  human  mind) ;  and  the 
connecting  link  between  them,  that  is,  evidence.  Now, 
if  we  consider  that  philosophy  has  abandoned  one  portion 
after  another  of  the  object,  just  in  proportion  as  positive 
science  has  occupied  that  portion,  we  can  see  that,  if  the 
process  continues,  the  whole  of  the  object  must  ultimately 
be  abandoned,  and  the  subject  alone  become  the  object 
of  contemplation.  Arid  if  so,  then  will  philosophy  teach 
only  psychology,*  that  is,  the  science  of  mental  phenom- 
ena, which  we  can  have  no  reason  to  doubt  may  assume 
somewhat  of  the  same  ordination  that  prevails  in  those 
sciences  that  have  the  material  world  for  their  foundation. 

Let  us  now  for  a  moment  reflect  upon  our  argument, 
and  endeavor  to  seize  the  point  at  which  philosophy  broke 
away  from  the  path  of  legitimate  inquiry,  and  lost  itself 
amid  the  shifting  quicksands  of  doubt,  denial,  and  con- 
tradiction. 

Let  us  place  both  the  vulgar  multitude  and  the  philoso- 
phers before  us,  and  examine  their  various  occupations. 

The  multitude,  in  all  ages  and  in  all  places,  have  ad- 
mitted the  existence  of  the  mind,  the  existence  of  the 
external  world,  and  the  existence  of  Deity.  These  appear 
to  be  the  common  facts  which  those  who  do  not  enter  on 
philosophic  inquiry  admit  and  act  upon  as  matters  requir- 
ing neither  proof  nor  specific  investigation.  They  are 

*  Psychology,  taking  that  term  extensively  to  signify  mental  science. 
Of  course  mental  science  has  its  divisions.  First,  there  is  inductive, 
psychology,  the  observational  part  of  mental  science,  and  second, 
there  is  the  science  proper  of  thought.  The  latter  alone  is  entitled  to 
the  name  of  philosophy ;  the  former  is  the  natural  history  of  mind. 
All  the  direct  sciences  must  be  evolved  before  there  can  be  a  seience 
proper  of  thought.  On  this  subject,  however,  we  shall  remark  towards 
the  close  of  the  volume. 


92  '/•///•;  THKOIIY  OF  HUM  A. \   I'HOGRESSION. 

the  common  arid  general  groundwork  of  human  credence 
and  of  human  action ;  and  their  certitude  is  never  shaken 
in  the  popular  mind  until  some  philosopher  shall  have 
promulgated  some  abstract  speculations  as  to  the  evidence 
on  which  those  propositions  are  received.  The  multitude, 
then,  believed  and  acted  on  their  belief,  taking  the  three 
great  facts  we  have  mentioned  as  the  most  common  and 
ordinary  truths,  without  which  the  whole  economy  of 
thought  must  be  overturned,  and  laid  in  inextricable  con- 
fusion. 

The  philosophers,  however,  were  desirous  of  rendering 
some  intelligible  account  of  the  phenomenon  presented  by 
the  multitude,  and  clearing  their  minds  of  mere  ordinary 
belief,  endeavored  to  give  a  rational  explanation  of  the 
theory  of  human  credence.  Their  object  was  not  to 
accept  these  great  facts,  and  thence  to  proceed  to  specific 
knowledge,  but  to  lay  anew  the  rational  evidence  on  which 
these  facts  themselves  were  to  be  admitted. 

This  intention  appears  at  first  sight  to  be  praiseworthy, 
and  the  process  may  seem  not  altogether  illegitimate. 

Let  us,  however,  posit  the  universal  fact,  that  before 
man  can  reason,  three  substantives  must  be  given  or  taken 
for  granted,  and  that  two  propositions  must  also  be  given, 
involving  those  three  substantives  as  the  terms,  before 
man  can  by  any  possibility  arrive  at  a  proposition  es- 
tablished by  rational,  that  is,  by  logical  proof.  Let  men 
therefore  pursue  their  inquiry  as  far  back  as  the  most 
subtle  intellect  can  possibly  reach,  there  must  necessarily 
be  found  at  the  bottom  of  all  real  or  of  all  hypothetical- 
reasoning,  three  substantives  and  two  propositions,  which, 
if  accepted,  may  lead  to  real  knowledge,  and,  if  rejected, 
must  land  us  without  further  difficulty  in  scepticism, 
absolutely  universal,  obliterating  all  truth,  all  possibility 
of  knowledge,  and  all  existence  of  whatever  kind  or  char- 
acter, subjective  or  objective. 

Such  being  the  case,  we  may  unhesitatingly  assert,  that 


THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION.  93 

at  the  bottom  of  all  knowledge  whatever  there  must  be 
found  some  substantive  existences  absolutely  incapable  of 
rational  substantiation,  and  some  propositions  absolutely 
incapable  of  rational  demonstration.  Without  these  it  is 
impossible  for  man  to  reason. 

Any  man,  therefore,  who  admits  any  rational  knowledge 
whatever,  does  thereby  necessarily  admit  certain  unde- 
mohstrable  propositions,  and  the  existence  of  certain  sub- 
stantives which  he  has  necessarily  taken  for  granted. 

The  specific  difference,  then,  between  real  knowledge 
and  philosophy  appears  to  be  this  : — Real  knowledge,  or 
positive  science,  accepts  the  ordinary  belief  of  the  multi- 
tude ;  and,  pursuing  it  forwards,  endeavors  to  determine 
its  limitations,  becoming  at  every  step  less  and  less 
general.  Philosophy,  on  the  contrary,  commencing  at 
the  ordinary  belief  of  the  multitude,  pursues  its  course 
backwards,  endeavoring  at  every  step  to  become  more 
and  more  general.  The  ultimate  termination  of  this 
course  must  ever  necessarily  be,  either  to  accept  some 
propositions  as  primary  and  unproven,  or  to  maintain  a 
consistent  scepticism,  which  absolutely  obliterates  the 
possibility  of  rational  knowledge.  To  show  how  this  dif- 
ference is  manifested,  we  have  only  to  inquire  upon  what 
terms  the  primary  substantives  of  the  sciences  are 
accepted  by  science  and  philosophy. 

The  geometrician,  for  instance,  accepts  space,  without 
the  smallest  inquiry  into  its  nature.  His  object  is  to 
limit,  define,  and  exhibit  the  relations  of  spaces.  Philos- 
ophy, on  the  contrary,  going  backwards,  might  discourse 
forever  on  the  nature  of  space,  without  eliciting  one  truth 
that  should  be  of  the  smallest  importance  to  mankind. 
The  sister  substantive  of  space,  namely  time,  is  also  ac- 
cepted by  the  man  of  science ;  whose  only  object  is  to 
measure  it  accurately — that  is,  definitely  to  determine 
the  limitations  of  its  portions.  The  physical  sciences, 
again,  accept  matter;  and  without  the  smallest  specula- 


94  THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION. 

tion  us  to  what  matter  really  is,  they  each,  in  their  several 
branches,  endeavor  to  determine  definitely  its  various 
forms,  and  accurately  to  specify  its  manifestations.  Phi- 
losophy, on  the  contrary,  endeavors  to  go  backwards  from 
the  ordinary  credence,  and  to  furnish  some  explanation 
as  to  what  matter  is  or  is  not,  for  some  have  attempted 
to  obliterate  it  altogether. 

The  two  substantives,  space  and  matter,  are  sufficient 
for  our  purpose.  Positive  science  accepting  space,  and 
pursuing  the  inquiry  forwards — investigating  first  the 
forms  of  spaces,  and  then  the  necessary  relations  that 
exist  between  those  forms — furnishes  us  with  geometry. 
While  by  accepting  matter,  and  inquiring  only  into  the 
forms  of  its  manifestation,  and  the  relations  that  are  ob- 
served to  exist  between  those  forms,  we  are,  by  the  exer- 
cise of  the  human  reason,  at  last  presented  with  the  sci- 
ences of  astronomy,  mechanics,  chemistry,  physiology, 
etc. ;  where  we  know  not  whether  most  to  admire  the 
power  and  wisdom  of  God  as  displayed  in  the  objects 
themselves,  or  his  goodness  in  endowing  man  with  an  in- 
tellect to  comprehend  them. 

Against  this,  what  has  philosophy  to  place  in  the  op- 
posite scale  ?  Starting  from  the  very  same  point,  only 
pursuing  her  fancied  investigation  backwards,  what  are 
the  treasures  she  has  amassed  on  her  way,  and  what  the 
results  she  has  presented  to  mankind  ?  A  thousand 
years  of  speculation  as  to  whether  matter  be  a  substance 
or  a  shadow,  an  existence  real  or  ideal ;  and,  notwith- 
standing that  the  most  acute  minds  have  devoted  no 
small  time  to  the  speculations,  not  one  single  hair's- 
breadth  of  progress  has  ever  been  made  towards  the  de- 
termination. .Every  discussion  as  to  the  nature  of  matter 
or  of  space,  may  be  raised  to-day  as  well  as  two  thousand 
years  ago ;  and,  for  all  that  we  can  possibly  have  reason 
for  anticipating,  may  be  raised  at  any  future  period  of 
man's  existence  on  the  earth,  with  just  as  much  and  just 


THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION.  95 

as  little  probability  of  ever  terminating-  in  any  other  prop- 
osition than  "  space  is  space,  and  matter  is  matter." 

We  conceive,  then,  that  the  moment  at  which  philoso- 
phy wandered  and  went  astray  was,  when  it  attempted 
to  discuss  the  objective  truth  or  falsehood  of  the  primary 
credences  or  convictipns  of  mankind.  These  primary 
convictions,  in  their  general  form,  are  at  the  bottom 
of  all  human  knowledge ;  but  whether  human  knowl- 
edge have  or  have  not  an  external,  real,  and  object- 
ive counterpart,  which  would  remain  if  man  and  man's 
intellect  were  annihilated,  neither  philosophy  nor  any 
other  natural  method  can  possibly  determine.  Whether 
knowledge  be  truth  is  (to  philosophy)  an  insoluble  mys- 
tery ;  neither  has  any  reason  ever  been  exhibited  to  the 
world  for  supposing  that  the  means  of  solution  are  at  all 
within  the  reach  of  man. 

But  if  it  be  impossible  for  philosophy  to  solve  the  ques- 
tion of  objective  existence,  and  if  all  the  various  sci- 
ences accept,  without  inquiry,  the  primary  substantives  of 
which  they  respectively  treat,  what  conclusion  must  we 
come  to  as  to  the  character  of  knowledge?  and  what  ob- 
ject must  we  allocate  to  philosophy  to  constitute  it  a  pos- 
sible branch  of  knowledge  ? 

First,  All  human  knowledge,  obtained  by  the  natural 
exercise  of  the  faculties,  is  real  only  in  so  far  as  it  is 
phenomenal.  That  is,  knowledge  being  only  a  form  of 
thought,  exists  in  the  mind,  and  it  is  beyond  the  reach 
of  the  human  faculties  to  ascertain  certainly  whether  the 
mental  propositions  which  constitute  knowledge  coincide 
with  actual  and  external  realities.  That  they  do  so,  is  a 
matter,  not  of  knowledge,  which  can  be  rationally  sub- 
stantiated, but  of  primary,  unproven,  and  improvable 
credence.* 

*  The  fallacy  of  philosophic  scepticism  is,  not  in  viewing  knowl- 
edge from  the  subjective  point  of  view,  which  is  in  fact  a  legitimate 
process,  but  in  supposing  that  this  mode  of  viewing  knowledge  entails 


96  THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION. 

Second,  If  every  portion  of  what  is  commonly  under- 
stood by  the  objective  universe  be  made  the  subject  of 
some  one  particular  science  (which  always  accepts  its 
primary  substantives,  and  inquires  only  into  the  modes 
of  their  manifestation),  and  if  ontological  or  metaphysi- 
cal philosophy  be  rejected  from  every  portion  of  that  ob- 
ject which  positive  science  comes  to  occupy,  then  can 
philosophy  no  longer  attempt  to  pronounce  a  priori  upon 
what  is,  or  what  is  not,  but  must  confine  itself  exclu- 
sively to  thought,  and  to  thought  alone  ;  thereby  chang- 
ing its  character  from  metaphysics  to  a  proper  science 
of  thought.  This,  then,  we  believe  to  be  the  true  province 
of  philosophy,  not  to  inquire  into  the  truth  or  falsehood 
of  the  primary  convictions  of  the  intellect,  but  to  observe 
and  record  what  those  primary  convictions  are,  to  enu- 
merate them,  to  determine  the  forms  of  their  manifesta- 
tions, and  to  pursue  with  regard  to  human  thought  the 
same  kind  of  inquiry  that  the  mathematical  sciences  pur- 
sue with  regard  to  numbers,  quantities,  and  spaces,  and 
more  nearly  still,  the  same  kind  of  inquiry  that  the  phys- 
sical  sciences  pursue  with  regard  to  matter  and  its  mani- 
festations. 

One  of  the  most  valuable  distinctions  that  has  ever  been 
made  in  philosophy,  and  one  that  we  believe  will  ulti- 
mately incline  mankind  to  clearer  views  of  the  true  prov- 
ince of  philosophy,  is  the  distinction  between  the  matter 
of  knowledge  and  the  form  of  knowledge.  This  distinc- 
tion will,  we  have  no  doubt,  ultimately  strike  at  the  root 
of  metaphysical  speculation.  For  what,  after  all,  is 
ontology  ?  an  attempt  to  construct  the  universe  out  of  the 


any  consequences  whatever  affecting  morals.  Crime  may  be  viewed 
by  the  philosopher  in  its  subjective  aspect— that  is,  in  the  mind ;  and 
the  punishment  that  follows  crime  may  also  be  viewed  in  its  subjective 
aspect — that  is,  in  the  pain  experienced  by  the  criminal.  But  is  the 
pain  one  single  atom  less  an  evil  because  it  happens  to  be  viewed 
subjectively  ? 


THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION.          97 

general  convictions  of  the  understanding.  Now,  let  us 
suppose  that  the  human  mind,  so  far  from  being  an 
unwritten  tablet,  formed  merely  for  the  reception  of  im- 
pressions, is,  as  it  were,  organized  up  to  the  highest 
possible  point,  so  that  it  universally  and  invariably  stamps 
a  form  on  those  impressions,  which  form  is  in  nowise 
dependent  on  the  external  objects,  but  due  to  the  constitu- 
tion of  the  mind  itself.  This  form  will  everywhere  be  pres- 
ent in  every  portion  of  knowledge.  What  then  ?  Shall 
we  thence  conclude  that  we  may,  by  some  more  than 
usually  subtle  process  of  mental  analysis,  reconstruct  a 
mental  universe  harmonious  with  that  without  us,  merely 
by  excogitation  ?  Shall  we  not  rather  still  adhere  to  the 
belief  that,  be  the  mind  as  complex  as  it  may,  it  could  of 
itself  originate  not  one  single  iota  of  knowledge,  unless 
the  substantive  groundwork  of  that  knowledge  were  fur- 
nished to  it  from  without  ?  *  Observation,  psychological 
or  sensational,  can  alone  furnish  us  with  a  fact,  and  a  fact 
in  one  form  or  other  must  lie  at  the  bottom  of  every  chain 

*  In  affirming  that  observation  is  the  origin  of  all  knowledge,  we 
mean  the  chronological  origin,  not  the  logical  origin.  The  doctrine 
that  makes  all  knowledge  to  consist  of  transformed  sensation — in 
other  words,  the  sensationalist  doctrine — is  perfectly  untenable.  It 
cannot  be  consistently  maintained  even  in  a  conversation  that  lasts 
but  a  few  minutes.  The  sensationalist,  whatever  he  may  argue,  is 
under  the  constant  necessity  of  using  terms  to  which  he  can  assign  no 
physical  correlative.  He  argues  as  a  sensationalist,  and  in  so  doing 
exhibits  himself  an  intellectualist.  He  cannot  help  it — no  man  ever 
could.  Sensation,  however,  is  necessary  to  call  the  mind  into  activity ; 
and  thus  all  knowledge  may  be  said  to  originate,  not  in  sensation, 
but  through  the  sensations.  Were  there  no  sensation,  there  is  no 
reason  to  suppose  there  would  be  knowledge ;  but  when  once  there  is 
sensation,  the  mind,  from  its  internal  constitution,  posits  things  al- 
together and  essentially  distinct  from  sensation,  or  from  any  possible 
transformation  of  sensation.  It  is  very  singular  that  sensationalism, 
which  is  commonly  supposed  to  lead  to  absolute  materialism,  does 
actually  lead  to  absolute  idealism.  Instead  of  substantiating  matter, 
it  obliterates  it,  and  leaves  nothing  but  the  phenomenon ;  the  sub- 
stances, mind  and  matter,  being  both  extinguished. — See  Morell's 
flist.  of  Philosophy, 
7 


98  THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION. 

of  reasoning  not  purely  hypothetical.  Let  us  grant  to  the 
utmost  possible  extent  that  the  form  of  knowledge  is  de- 
termined by  the  constitution  of  the  intellect  itself ;  yet  the 
substantive  and  concrete  element,  the  primary  matter  of 
knowledge,  whether  relating  to  the  meor  the  not  me,  must 
be  derived  exclusively  from  observation,  and  never  can  by 
any  possibility  be  more  than  guessed  at  by  the  mere  meta- 
physician. Ontology,  however,  has  always  aspired  to 
determine  the  matter  as  well  as  the  form  of  knowledge, 
and  never  till  it  abandons  the  vain  attempt,  can  we  hope 
to  see  philosophy  regenerated,  and  reconstructed,  as  it 
may  be,  into  perhaps  the  most  interesting  of  all  human 
sciences.  The  form  of  knowledge,  and  not  the  matter,  is 
the  true  object  of  philosophy.* 

*  In  saying  that  philosophy  should  confine  itself  to  psychology,  wo 
do  not  mean  that  it  should  confine  itself  to  the  mere  record  of  what 
takes  place  in  the  mind.  This  is  the  natural  history  of  thought,  and 
the  natural  history  is  only  the  basis  of  the  science.  Every  branch  of 
knowledge  has  a  natural  history  as  well  as  a  science ;  and  if  we  con- 
found the  two,  as  the  Scotch  psychologists  did,  we  must  either  leave 
a  large  number  of  questions  unexplained,  or  dogmatize  through  thick 
and  thin,  and  attempt  to  suffocate  the  questions  instead  of  answering 
them.  All  knowledge  is  necessarily  divided  into  real-ology  ;uul 
thought-ology  (if  the  expressions  may  pass),  and  we  maintain  that  the 
knowledge  of  reals  is  not  the  knowledge  of  thought,  and  that  the 
knowledge  of  thought  is  not  the  knowledge  of  reals.  Now,  philoso- 
phy may  take  its  choice,  either  to  discourse  on  reals — God,  Nature, 
Man — or  to  discourse  on  thought — perceptions,  abstractions,  relations ; 
but  it  cannot  be  allowed  under  the  same  name  to  discourse  on  both, 
unless  that  name  be  coextensive  with  knowledge,  and  embrace  all 
that  can  be  known.  If  philosophy  be  a  peculiar  branch  of  knowledge, 
it  must,  like  every  other  branch,  select  its  object,  and  to  that  object 
it  must  be  confined.  It  is  perfectly  illegitimate  for  any  science  to 
pretend  to  discourse  on  the  subjective  intellect  that  is  in  operation. 
If  this  be  allowed,  truth  and  falsehood  are  immediately  overthrown 
and  blended  i7i  one  mass  of  inextricable  confusion.  Who  would 
allow  a  gometrician,  as  such,  to  discourse  on  the  trueness  or  falsity  of 
the  primary  axioms  of  geometry  ?  The  only  circumstance  that  renders 
geometry  possible,  is  the  subjective  truth  (necessary  and  universal) 
of  those  axioms,  and  the  circumstance  that  they  are  incapable  of  such 
questioning,  and  are  the  essence,  the  most  abstract  form,  and  the  uni- 
versal standard  of  all  geometric  truth.  If  we  pretend  to  make  the 


THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION.  99 

We  conclude,  then,  our  argument  with  regard  to  the 
conbination  of  knowledge  and  reason.  We  mean  not  that 
men  must  combine  knowledge  and  reason,  but  that  the 
great  masses  of  the  unprivileged  classes  must  combine 
together  on  the  same  knowledge  and  on  the  same  prin- 
ciples, that  they  have  rationally  deduced  from  that  knowl- 
edge. It  has  been  said,  that  "  for  men  to  be  free,  it  is 
sufficient  that  they  will  it ; "  never  was  there  a  greater 
mistake,  or  one  so  utterly  at  variance  with  the  great  facts 
of  history.  Perhaps  no  sentiment  is  stronger  in  the  human 
breast  than  the  love  of  liberty.  For  this  men  have  panted, 
prayed,  fought,  struggled,  rebelled,  and  endured  every  kind 
of  hardship,  and  every  kind  of  cruelty.  And  yet  they  are 
not  free.  To  be  free,  it  is  first  necessary  that  men  should 

axiom  objective,  and  to  inquire  into  its  truth,  we  may  be  philosophers, 
or  anything  else,  but  most  certainly  we  are  no  longer  geometricians. 
And  so  it  is  with  all  other  sciences  whatever,  even  those  that  relate 
to  thought.  If  we  make  thought  objective  for  the  purpose  of  study- 
ing it,  and  we  can  only  study  it  by  making  it  objective,  we  must  speak 
of  thought,  the  product,  analyze  it,  classify  its  forms,  and  exhibit 
their  relations;  but  most  certainly  we  have  nothing  whatever  to  do 
with  the  intellect  that  is  thinking  about  thought.  If  we  turn  from 
thought,  the  product,  to  the  intellect  that  thinks,  and  wish  to  know 
the  intellect,  then  we  must  make  intellect  objective,  analyze  it, 
classify  its  faculties,  and  exhibit  their  relations;  but  here  again,  as 
everywhere  else,  we  must  not  confound  the  object  that  is  thought 
about  with  the  subjectthat  thinks.  The  subjective  intellect  can  never 
legitimately  be  taken  into  consideration.  Philosophy  appears  to  us 
to  wander  about  without  a  resting-place  for.  the  sole  of  her  foot;  first, 
she  speaks  of  the  absolute  reality,  and  then  of  the  absolute  idea,  and 
changes  backwards  and  forwards  in  such  a  way,  that  really  it  re- 
quires no  ghost  to  tell  us,  that  questions  investigated  upon  such  a 
inetliodless  principle  must  ever  remain  insoluble.  If  philosophy  bi- 
as extensive  as  knowledge,  then  knowledge  is  composed  of  the  vari- 
ous scientific  and  historical  branches,  with  their  relations,  and  their 
is  no  peculiarity  about  philosophy.  But  if,  as  we  imagine,  philosophy 
is  a  peculiar  branch  of  knowledge,  it  must  necessarily  select  its  ob- 
ject like  all  other  sciences,  and  if  it  assume  to  be  the  scientia-scien- 
tiaj-am,  then  its  object  is  knowledge  and  not  reality.  If  its  object  be 
knowledge,  then  to  knowledge  it  must  confine  its  discourse,  every 
speculation  about  reality  being  altogether  illicit.  Thus,  if  philosophy 
profess  to  treat  of  God,  it  is  theology,  and  must  never  attempt  to  dis- 


100          THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION. 

know  wherein  true  freedom  consists  ;  namely,  in  the  abso- 
lute supremacy  of  equal  and  impartial  law,  made  without 
respect  of  persons  or  classes,  aud  administered  with  up- 
rightness and  regularity.  Nor  is  this  all.  True  freedom 
is  the  very  highest  point  of  political  civilization  ;  and  to 
suppose  that  mere  will  can  ever  lead  to  that  point,  is  to 
suppose  that  men  may  overleap  the  conditions  of  their 
nature,  and  reach  the  goal  without  the  struggles  of  the 
race.  True  freedom,  however  simple  in  its  theory,  is  the 
highest,  and  probably  the  most  complex,  form  of  com- 
bined society.  It  is  the  whole  body  of  society  acting  on 
the  principles  of  knowledge,  and  carrying  truth  into 
practical  operation.  Will  can  never  achieve  this. 

True  freedom  supposes  a  condition  of  society  which  is 
incompatible  with  ignorance  and  error, — a  condition  nega- 
tive in  its  principles,  positive  in  its  institution  and 
establishment, — a  condition  that  has  never  yet  been 
attained,  even  in  a  tolerable  degree,  by  any  nation  under 
the  dominion  of  superstition,  and  never  yet  completely 

* 

course  on  the  idea  of  God.  All  speculations  about  absolute  ideas  are 
(however  interesting,  and  however  useful),  illegitimate ;  they  have 
no  more  business  there  than  speculations  on  the  idea  of  substance 
have  in  treatises  on  mechanics.  And  if  philosophy  select  the  idea, 
and  not  the  reality  as  its  object,  it  may  discourse  on  absolute  ideas, 
but  must  refrain  from  discoursing  on  theology.  This  mode  of  dis- 
tinctive investigation  is  the  great  first  principle  of  method,  and  the 
great  means  of  the  progression  of  knowledge ;  and  when  the  clay 
comes  that  the  separate  branches  have  been  completely  investigated 
on  a  principle  of  independent  inquiry,  and  the  sensationalist  has  ex- 
hausted the  world  without,  and  the  philosopher  the  world  within,  and 
the  Christian  doctor  has  attained  to  a  perfect  knowledge  of  Scripture, 
the  three  regions  may  again  blend  into  one,  aud  show  the  wondrous 
harmony  of  the  universe — of  that  creation  which  came  spotless  from 
the  hand  of  the  Lord, but  has  so  long  exhibited  the  discord  and  diver- 
sity of  sin.  Whether  that  day  may  come  ere  the  new  heavens  and 
the  new  earth  shall  be  the  place  of  man's  abode,  we  know  not,  nor 
have  the  means  of  ascertaining ;  but  that  the  constant  progress  of 
man's  intellectual  perception  is  towards  that  final  unity,  we  can  learn, 
as  certainly  as  we  can  learn  that  the  political  progress  of  men  is 
towards  a  condition  of  equality. 


THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION.         101 

attained  even  by  the  most  enlightened  states, — a  condition 
to  be  attained  not  by  one  great  tumult,  but  gradually 
evolved  and  perfected  with  the  lapse  of  years.  It  is  the 
result  and  ultimate  end  of  a  great  progress,  which  makes 
its  way  with  knowledge,  sometimes  advancing  with 
peaceful  steps,  sometimes  overturning  the  barriers  that 
stand  in  the  wajr  amid  the  din  of  revolution.  It  is  the 
condition  of  society  where  will  is  excluded,  and  law  is 
made  on  an  objective  reason,  which  convinces  man's 
judgment  that  it  is  equitable.  It  is  the  condition  first  to  be 
defined  in  its  abstract  form  by  the  man  of  thought,  and 
then  to  be  striven  for  by  the  mass  of  the  population.  A 
condition  that  supposes  great  advancement  and  infinite 
benefit  to  mankind,  but  a  condition  that  must  be  purchased, 
and  purchased  only  on  those  terms  which  are  prescribed 
by  the  laws  of  man's  constitution. 

The  political  history  of  our  race  teaches  us  that  there 
are  three  conditions  of  society  involving  a  cause  on  the  one 
hand,  and  an  effect  on  the  other. 

The  causes  are  Knowledge,  Superstition,  Infidelity.  The 
effects  Freedom,  Despotism,  Anarchy. 

Knowledge  and  Freedom. 

Superstition  and  Despotism. 

Infidelity  and  Anarchy. 

Such  are  the  conditions  of  our  nature.  Man  may  make 
his  election  of  the  cause,  but  God  has  determined  the 
character  of  the  consequent. 

No  fact  stands  out  more  prominently  from  the  condition 
of  the  various  nations,  or  from  their  history,  than  that 
those  conditions,  and  the  great  actions  of  men  in  the 
figure  of  society,  depend  upon  their  credences ;  that  is,  on 
the  convictions  of  their  intellect ;  that  is,  on  the  proposi- 
tions they  hold  to  be  true.  What  makes  one  nation 
press  ardently  forward  in  the  pursuit  of  liberty,  while 
another  sits  dead  and  stupid  under  the  iron  rule  of  the 
despot  ?  Thought,  mere  thought,  impalpable  and  in- 


10'2         THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION. 

visible  thought,  a  something  which  can  neither  be  seen, 
felt,  nor  handled ;  but  which  fixes  man's  destiny,  raising 
him  if  correct  to  the  dignity  and  energy  of  freeman, 
dooming  him  if  erroneous  to  vice,  degradation,  and  slavery. 
The  history  of  the  world  has  to  be  re- written  on  a  new 
principle,  and  this  unseen  element  has  to  be  exhibited  as 
the  cause  of  the  condition  of  the  nations.  Climate,  circum- 
stance, and  nice,  may  all  go  for  something  or  for  much  ; 
but,  far  more  influential  than  either,  is  credence.*  What 
makes  Africa  slumber  on  in  her  barbarous  dream  of  semi- 
brutality,  as  if  her  sons  were  forever  doomed  to  claim 
kindred  with  the  beasts  of  the  field?  Her  credence,  her 
bloody  superstitions,  her  errors  of  thought.  And  what 
makes  Asia  the  perpetual  home  of  despotism,  of  cruel 
exaction  and  licentious  tyranny,  of  fabled  wealth  to  the 
ruler,  and  grinding  poverty  to  the  cultivator  of  the  soil? 
Asiatic  superstition ;  that  is,  the  common  and  everyday 

*  Mr.  John  Macgregor  (who,  by  the  way,  takes  upon  him  to  call  a  far  greater 
man  than  himself  a  canting  hypocrite,— Oliver  Cromwell,  to  wit)  begins  his 
dissertation  on  the  "  Natural  Resources,  etc.,  of  the  Nations  of  Europe,"  with 
the  following  passage :— "  The  geographical  position  of  a  country  has  always 
been  admitted  as  of  the  first  importance  in  regard  to  its  prosperity  and  power." 

Mr.  Macgregor  also  informs  us,  "  that  the  science  of  statistics  is  that  of  truth  ;" 
but  we  will  undertake  to  affirm,  that  the  science  of  statistics  never  did,  and 
never  can,  lead  to  such  a  doctrine  as  Mr.  Macgregor's.  Will  any  man  in  the 
world  rank  the  geographical  position  of  England  as  so  very  superior  to  that  of 
Turkey ;  or  that  of  North  America  to  that  of  South  America  ;  or  that  of  Prussia 
and  Holland  to  that  of  Spain  and  Portugal  ?  Yet  Turkey,  South  America,  and 
Spain,  are  going  to  wreck  and  ruin  ;  although  Turkey  was  very  powerful  at 
one  period,  and  Spain  was  the  first  kingdom  in  Europe.  And  is  the  geographical 
position  of  Switzerland,  without  even  a  seaport,  so  very  superior  to  that  of  Ire- 
land ?  Yet  Dr.  Bowring's  report  on  Switzerland  would  lead  to  the  conclusion 
that  the  country  was  prosperous,  and  not  desolated  by  hunger  fever.  Mr. 
Macgregor  himself  states,  "with,  however,  nearly  every  natural  element  of 
power  and  advantage  for  commerce,  there  is  scarcely  any  country  in  Europe 
or  Asia  so  ill  cultivated  as,  or  where  industry  is  farther  in  arrear  than  in,  Asia- 
tic Turkey." 

The  prosperity  of  a  country  does  not  depend  on  its  position,  but  on  the  charac- 
ter of  its  inhabitants,  on  their  credence,  their  knowledge,  their  institutions,  and 
the  freedom  of  their  government.  The  geographical  position  of  the  United 
States  has  not  altered  since  1776,  yet  since  that  time  the  country  has  made  a 
progress  unequalled  in  history.  Suppose  North  and  South  America  were  to 
change  inhabitants,  would  the  position  be  of  any  imaginable  consequence  ? 
Position,  indeed  ! 


THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION.         103 

thought  of  the  millions  who  inhabit  Asia.  And  what 
has  fixed  the  destiny  and  determined  the  present  position 
of  the  countries  of  Europe?  Credence.  Why  is  Spain 
in  a  constant  struggle  between  despotism  and  anarchy  ? 
Because  the  mind  of  Spain  is  struggling  between  super- 
stition and  infidelity.  Why  is  Italy  worn  out?  and  why 
is  she  the  home  of  all  that  is  little  and  despicable  in  the 
eyes  of  Englishmen?  Because  her  credence  has  ruined 
the  mind  of  the  population.  And  why,  with  every  ad- 
vantage of  earth,  ocean,  and  sky,  are  the  fairest  portions 
of  the  earth,  the  shores  and  islands  of  the  eastern  Mediter- 
ranean, inhabited  by  degenerate  races  who  dare  riot  strike 
one  blow  for  liberty,  but  lie  grovelling  in  vice,  without  a 
thought  for  the  regeneration  of  their  country  ?  Because 
their  credence  has  degraded  them.  And  why  is  Russia 
a  vast  conglomeration  of  slave  plantations,  with  one  great 
slave-owner  for  a  master  ?  Because  the  minds  of  Russians 
are  enslaved  by  the  greater  despot — superstition.  And 
why  is  England  the  mightiest  of  nations,  with  a  power 
and  an  influence  that  are  felt  in  every  quarter  of  the  globe  ? 
Because  the  mind  of  England  is  the  most  enlightened  ; 
and  because  knowledge  has  made  her  powerful.  What 
makes  Turkey's  weakness  and  England's  strength  ?  Not 
climate,  not  geographical  position,  not  any  physical  ad- 
vantage to  which  so  much  of  the  difference  is  usually 
attributed — but  credence;  the  credence  of  England  is 
correct,  and  the  credence  of  Tin-key  is  erroneous.  Sooner 
or  later  men  must  learn  the  great  fact,  that  the  social  and 
political  condition  of  a  nation  is  absolutely  dependent  on 
that  nation's  credence.  Correct  credence  is  knowledge, 
and  knowledge  alone  is  capable  of  regenerating  the  polit- 
ical condition  of  mankind.  Change  the  credence  of  a 
nation,  and  you  change  the  whole  current  of  its  future 
progress.  Let  the  most  darkened  and  benighted  spot  on 
earth,  the  far  away  South  Sea  island,  where  the  fierce 
idolater  could  feast  on  his  captive  victim,  and  the  unhappy 


104         THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION. 

mother  could  think  no  crime  to  destroy  her  new-born  off- 
spring ;  where  man  was,  if  we  may  so  speak,  a  demon 
worse  than  a  beast  of  prey  ; — let  that  spot  be  but  visited 
by  the  knowledge  of  the  true  God,  the  first  great  element 
of  truth — let  the  truth  be  but  received — let  the  idolater 
change  his  credence,  and  you  have  changed  the  whole  order 
of  society.  Even  let  the  truths  of  the  gospel  descend  sav- 
ingly, but  into  the  hearts  of  a  few,  if  the  truth  obtain  an  in- 
tellectual assent  with  the  population,  instead  of  a  per- 
petual record  of  crime  and  abomination,  we  shall  see  man's 
reason  emancipated,  and  the  whole  figure  of  society  trans- 
formed, as  it  were,  beneath  the  miracle-working  hand  of 
the  Most  High. 


SECTION    IV. — THE    USE    AND    OPERATION    OF    THE    COMBINA- 
TION   OF    KNOWLEDGE    AND    REASON. 

We  now  turn  to  the  use  of  combination.  Why  should 
men  combine,  and  for  what  object  should  they  com- 
bine? 

First,  There  are  certain  evils  which  belong  to  the 
race  of  mankind,  and  which  afflict  humanity  more  or  less 
in  every  quarter  of  the  globe.  Some  of  these  evils  are  of 
such  a  nature  as  to  appear  under  circumstances  of  extreme 
aggravation  in  certain  conditions  of  society ;  while,  in 
other  and  better  conditions,  they  are  kept  under  some 
beneficial  restraint  by  the  direct  intention  and  continued 
effort  of  society.  In  the  existence  of  these  evils  is  to  be 
found  the  reason  of  combination  ;  and  the  object  of  com- 
bination is  to  remove  as  much  as  possible,  or  at  all  events 
to  diminish,  such  of  these  evils  as  affect  the  political  con- 
dition of  men,  or  the  condition  of  men  in  society. 

The  first  great  master  evil,  and  the  one  to  which  most 
others  may  be  traced,  directly  or  indirectly,  is  the  innate 
corruption  and  depravity  of  man,  which  makes  him  pre- 


THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION.         105 

fer  falsehood  to  truth,*  vice  to  virtue,  and  the  gratifica- 
tion of  passion  to  the  enlightened  and  rational  exercise  of 
his  natural  faculties.  Whatever  view  may  be  taken  of 
the  theological  question  of  natural  depravity,  we  hold  it  a 
historical  fact  of  the  very  first  magnitude,  and  of  the  most 
indubitable  veracity,  that  the  human  race,  as  such,  has 
always,  and  in  every  known  region  of  the  earth,  "  done 
the  things  which  it  ought  not  to  have  done,  and  left  un- 
done the  things  which  it  ought  to  have  done."  With  re- 
gard to  man's  nature,  we  shall  enter  into  no  disputation  ; 
but,  with  regard  to  men's  actions,  we  view  them  through 
the  common  medium  of  history,  and  we  hesitate  not  to 
see  the  practice  of  injustice  more  or  less  prevalent  in 
every  country  of  the  earth,  and,  at  the  same  time,  to  ac- 
cept that  explanation  of  the  fact  which  is  furnished  in 
such  plain  terms  by  the  words  of  divine  revelation.  His- 
tory informs  us  that  the  actions  of  men  are  wicked ;  and 
surely  there  can  be  no  absurdity  in  giving  credence  to 
Scripture,  when  it  informs  us  that  their  hearts  are  so 
likewise.  With  the  depravity  of  the  heart,  politics  has 
no  concern ;  but,  so  soon  as  that  depravity  comes  to  mani- 
fest itself  in  action,  and  to  appear  in  the  form  of  fraud  or 
violence,  the  necessity  of  a  system  of  politics  is  immedi- 
ately substantiated.  Men  are  wicked,  and  therefore  in- 

*  In  saying  that  man  prefers  falsehood  to  truth,  we  do  not  mean  that  man's 
intellect  prefers  falsehood.  The  intellect,  were  it  not  impelled  in  a  wrong  direc- 
tion by  the  sentiments,  would  naturally  seek  truth,  and  truth  only  ;  and,  were 
it  left  unbiassed  by  the  will,  would  form  its  propositions  regardless  of  all  save 
the  evidence  before  it.  From  the  complex  nature  of  man,  however,  and  from 
the  corruption  of  the  moral  portion  of  the  mind,  it  happens  that  propositions 
altogether  unfounded  are  received  as  true,  apparently  for  the  purpose  of  fill- 
ing up  the  general  scheme  or  chart  of  knowledge,  which  must  be  filled  up  either 
with  truth  or  falsehood,  but,  at  all  events,  filled  up.  Hence  all  nations  at  one 
period  or  other  have  had  a  false  religion,  and  a  false  scheme  of  ethics.  "What 
ever  metaphysic  difficulties  assail  the  question,  it  is  a  historical  fact  that  the 
human  race  has  preferred,  and  still  does,  throughout  the  greater  part  of  the 
globe,  prefer,  falsehood  to  truth  on  the  subject  of  religion  and  morality  ;  and 
a  false  religion  is  the  source  from  which  error  on  almost  all  other  subjects  flows 
as  naturally  as  water  from  a  fountain.  There  cannot  possibly  be  any  hope  of 
political  regeneration  so  long  as  a  nation  adheres  to  a  false  religion. 


1U6         '///A'  THEORY'  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION, 

dined  to  do  wrong ;  but  they  are  also  rational,  and  may 
combine  systematically  to  prevent  the  wrong  from  being 
done. 

Among  the  evils  that  prey  upon  humanity,  there  are 
some  which  men  inflict  upon  each  other.  Tl^ese  may 
generally  be  reduced  to  the  class  of  violence  or  of  fraud  ; 
and  the  prevention  of  violence  and  fraud  is  the  first  great 
end  of  political  association.  The  possibility  of  violence 
and  fraud  naturally  originates  some  kind  of  government, 
the  character  of  which  appears  to  be  determined  much 
more  by  the  condition  of  the  population  as  regards  knowl- 
edge, than  by  any  direct  intention  on  the  part  of  the 
rulers,  or  of  any  body  of  men  whatever. 

The  evils  that  would  arise  from  the  unrestrained  pas- 
sions of  mankind  form  the  general  groundwork  or  reason 
for  the  establishment  of  some  rule,  order,  or  government, 
which  the  mass  of  the  population,  for  the  most  part,  ac- 
quiesce in,  whatever  be  its  character.  When  a  govern- 
ment is  established,  we  have  the  more  or  less  perfect 
formation  of  a  state ;  that  is,  of  an  association  of  indi- 
viduals supposed  to  be  acting  together  for  their  common 
advantage.  [It  will  be  altogether  unnecessary  for  us  to 
go  back  to  the  formation  of  governments  amongst  nations 
scarcely  emerging  from  barbarism.  The  character  of 
such  governments  is  a  matter  of  little  or  no  importance, 
neither  would  any  change  merely  in  the  form  of  govern- 
ment be  attended  with  any  particular  advantage.  The 
first  great  necessity  for  such  nations  is  the  acquisition  of 
knowledge.  Give  knowledge,  and  civilization  will  follow 
of  its  own  accord,  just  in  proportion  as  that  knowledge 
is  more  or  less  complete,  and  more  or  less  generally  dis- 
seminated. We  confine  our  remarks  to  those  nations  that 
have  undergone  some  considerable  process  of  consolida- 
tion, and  arrived  at  some  definite  form  of  constitution, 
such  as  the  nations  of  modern  Europe ;  in  each  of 
which  we  have  a  government  varying  in  character, 


THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION.        107 

according  to  the  moral  and  intellectual  condition  of  the 
population.] 

The  ostensible  reason  for  the  existence  of  a  govern- 
ment, we  suppose  to  be  "  the  necessity  of  preventing  in- 
dividual fraud  or  violence."  Were  there  no  tendency  in 
the  individual  to  fraud  and  violence,  the  first  great  end  of 
political  association  would  cease  to  exist. 

If,  then,  the  government  be  established  for  the  'preven- 
tion of  fraud  and  violence — that  is,  for  the  prevention  of 
injustice — what  is  the  use  of  that  other  combination  of 
which  we  have  spoken,  namely,  the  combination  of 
knowledge  and  reason  ? 

1st,  The  progress  of  mankind  is  a  progress  from  igno- 
rance, error,  and  superstition,  towards  knowledge. 

2d,  Governments  being  established  in  the  earlier  stages 
of  society — that  is,  during  the  reign  of  ignorance,  error, 
and  superstition — have  always,  and  in  every  known  case, 
been  more  or  less  despotic ;  that  is,  have  systematically 
assumed  powers  to  which  they  were  not  justly  entitled. 

3d,  The  progress  of  political  society  is  a  progress  in 
which  these  unjust  powers  have  been  gradually  curtailed 
and  abolished,  in  proportion  as  the  nation  has  progressed 
from  ignorance  and  superstition,  and  advanced  towards 
knowledge. 

The  use,  then,  of  the  combination  of  knowledge  and 
reason,  is  (not  to  combine  against  individual  injustice, 
this  being  the  province  of  the  government,  but)  to  reduce 
the  powers  of  the  government  and  the  laws  of  the  coun- 
try within  those  bounds  of  justice  beyond  which  they 
cannot  be  other  than  despotic. 

The  first  great  fact  that  we  learn  from  history  with 
regard  to  governments,  is,  that  they  are  all  (whatever  be 
their  form)  despotic  in  their  character  during  the  earlier 
periods  of  society,  and  that  they  lose  their  despotic  char- 
acter only  when  the  nation  progresses  in  knowledge,  and 
combines  for  the  advancement  of  its  liberties. 


108        THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION. 

In  all  the  countries  of  Europe  we  may  observe  the 
powers  of  the  government  undergoing  a  gradual  but  sure 
process  of  curtailment ;  while,  on  the  other  hand,  the 
liberties  of  the  people  are  expanding  in  a  corresponding 
ratio,  and  becoming  systematically  established  by  law. 
In  Russia  the  process  exhibits  only  the  first  faint  symp- 
toms of  commencement ;  while  in  England  the  process 
is  tolerably  complete  (as  regards  personal  liberty) ;  the 
interval  between  these  two  being  filled  up  by  the  other 
European  countries.  The  progress  of  liberty,  then,  is  an 
internal  progress,  by  which  the  internal  constitution  of  the 
country  is  altered  and  amended. 

What,  then,  is  the  combination  of  which  we  have 
spoken,  as  if  it  were  capable  of  working  out  the  great 
evolution  of  liberty  and  justice? 

It  is  the  combination  of  the  nation,  or  of  the  enlightened 
portion  of  the  nation,  against  the  laws  of  the  nation,  and 
against  the  unjust  powers  of  the  rulers. 

Liberty  is  advanced  not  by  the  warfare  of  one  nation 
against  another  nation,  but  by  the  warfare  (physical  or 
moral)  of  the  unprivileged  classes  against  the  unjust  laws, 
and  against  the  unjust  privileges  that  prevail  within  the 
nation  itself;  and  this  warfare  can  only  be  carried  on 
efficiently  by  the  mass  of  the  population  combining  to  ex- 
tort those  measures  that  have  been  theoretically  shown 
to  be  right,  or  those  measures  that  on  good  grounds  are 
presumed  to  be  beneficial. 

The  common  notion  almost  universally  adopted  in  the 
earlier  stages  of  society,  and  still  prevalent  in  some  of 
the  countries  of  Europe,  is  that  the  ruler  rules  by  his 
own  will,  as  if  he  were  the  lord  or  supreme  director  of 
the  nation.  Instead  of  laws  being  made  on  an  objective 
reason  that  establishes  their  equity,  they  are  the  expres- 
sions of  the  will  of  those  who  happen  to  be  in  power; 
and  the  gradual  destruction  of  this  doctrine,  with  its  evil 


THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION.         109 

consequences,  is  the  result  of  knowledge  disseminated 
throughout  the  population. 

When  we  look  back  on  the  history  of  England  or  of 
any  other  country  that  has  made  considerable  progress, 
we  see  that  all  the  great  changes  that  have  taken  place  in 
the  political  condition  of  the  population  have  been  pre- 
ceded by  changes  in  the  theoretic  credence  of  the  popula- 
tion, and  that  the  amended  order  of  society  has  resulted 
directly  from  a  new  and  more  correct  order  of  thought. 
And  we  may  also  see  that  these  beneficial  changes  have 
seldom,  if  ever,  originated  with  the  rulers  themselves, 
but  have  been  extorted  from  them,  sometimes  by  force, 
and  sometimes  by  the  moral  influence  that  the  man  in 
the  right  has  over  the  man  in  the  wrong. 

Without  alluding  to  the  explosion  of  the  "  divine  right 
of  kings,"  etc.  (which  enabled  rulers  to  practise  flagrant 
iniquities  without  being  brought  to  judicial  trial),  we  may 
refer  to  two  modern  instances  of  the  combination  of  knowl- 
edge and  reason,  by  which  the  people  of  Britain  obtained 
changes  of  vast  extent,  by  a  moral  power  which  overcame 
the  will  of  the  rulers  and  of  the  privileged  orders,  who 
were  linked  to  support  the  abuses.  We  refer  to  the  eman- 
cipation of  the  negroes,  and  to  the  repeal  of  the  corn- 
laws. 

We  have  selected  these  two  instances  because  they 
represent  two  great  classes — of  evils  on  the  one  hand,  and 
of  argument  on  the  other. 

The  laws  of  Great  Britain  declared  that  it  was  lawful 
for  one  man  to  possess  another  man  as  his  property ;  and 
this  principle  was  carried  into  practical  operation  by  the 
seizure  and  reduction  to  slavery  of  vast  numbers  of  Afri- 
cans, who  were  thenceforward  viewed  as  mere  laboring 
animals,  denied  education,  denied  religion,  and  denied 
those  rights  of  family  which  nature  has  established  as  the 
first  of  her  social  laws. 

In  this  negro  slavery  we  have  a  vast  system  of  fraud 


110         Till-:  TIIKORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION. 

and  violence,  established  and  continued  by  authority  of 
the  British  government ;  that  is,  we  have  the  power  which 
had  been  conferred  on  the  government  for  the  purpose  of 
preventing  violence  and  fraud,  turned  altogether  away 
from  its  legitimate  exercise,  and  made  the  instrument  of 
supporting  a  system  of  glaring  injustice  and  flagrant 
iniquity.  We  have  that  greatest  of  all  political  evils, 
injustice,  established  and  maintained  by  law ;  that  is,  in 
fact,  the  despotism  of  false  law. 

Here,  instead  of  the  government  and  the  law  being  the 
means  of  protection,  they  give  systematic  countenance  to 
the  injustice ;  and,  by  legalizing  crime,  they  deprive  the 
man  who  is  oppressed  (the  negro)  from  endeavoring  to 
recover  by  his  own  effort  the  natural  rights  with  which 
the  Almighty  had  endowed  him. 

And  how  was  slavery  abolished  ?  What  were  the 
efficient  means  that  led  first  to  the  abolition  of  the  traffic, 
and  afterwards  to  the  authoritative  declaration,  that 
slavery  should  no  longer  be  countenanced  by  law ;  that 
is,  that  the  system  itself  must  cease  in  the  British  do- 
minions. Was  it  by  the  natural  mode  ?  by  the  method 
which  nature  teaches,  when  she  tells  us  to  resist  every 
attack  upon  our  liberty  ?  Alas !  the  negro  knew  little 
about  liberty,  and  his  ignorance  was,  perhaps,  as  much 
the  true  cause  of  his  slavery  as  was  the  color  of  his  skin. 
What  was  it  that  abolished  negro  slavery  ?  It  was  the 
moral  influence  of  knowledge,  reason,  and  religion.  The 
trade  had  been  sanctioned  by  long  use ;  the  interests  of 
the  wealthy  and  powerful  were  linked  to  maintain  it; 
the  laws  of  the  empire  had  declared  it  legitimate,  and  the 
government  was  opposed  to  its  abolition.  More  than  this, 
not  one  single  man  who  had  the  means  and  the  oppor- 
tunity to  make  himself  heard  on  behalf  of  the  negro,  had 
one  farthing  of  pecuniary  interest  in  procuring  the  negro's 
emancipation.  Those  who  argued  had  no  suffering  to 
impel  them,  save  the  suffering  of  just  and  generous  hearts  ; 


THE  THEORY  OF  1IUMAN  PROGRESSION.        HI 

no  interest  to  lead  them  on,  save  the  interests  of  humanity 
and  the  good  of  the  oppressed. 

What,  then,  were  the  motives  and  the  mean's  that  led 
to  so  great  a  political  change  as  the  emancipation  of  a  race 
from  slavery  ? 

First,  Certain  individuals  learnt  to  think  aright  on  the 
subject,  and  to  give  utterance  to  their  thoughts.  The 
battle  was  then  commenced.  On  the  one  hand  was  reason, 
involving  the  principles  of  natural  equity,  and  on  the 
other  was  the  despotism  of  the  law,  the  power  of  the 
government,  and  the  pecuniary  interests  of  the  wealthy 
and  influential. 

Sooner  or  later  correct  thought  makes  its  way,  and  the 
more  rapidly  and  surely,  the  more  a  nation  has  abandoned 
superstition. 

The  theoretic  argument  or  credence  adopted  by  the  advo- 
cates of  liberty  was,  "  That  man  is  made  free  by  God,  and 
can  never  be  made  rightfully  a  slave  by  man."  The  argu- 
ment in  its  most  essential  character  was  one  of  mere 
justice,  not  of  economical  benefit  or  prejudice,  profit  or 
loss.  A  moral  agitation  was  commenced,  the  few  were 
transformed  into  the  many,  and  the  progress  of  opinion 
(of  credence)  was  such,  that  every  possible  argument  that 
could  be  adduced  on  the  opposite  side  was  brought  forth 
from  the  lying  chambers  of  selfishness.  Everything  in 
the  shape  of  an  argument,  everything  that  could  be  made 
to  pass  for  one,  though  halt,  lame,  or  blind,  was  pressed 
into  the  service  of  casuistry,  for  the  purpose  of  per- 
petuating injustice.* 

*  "  The  question  now  is  only  the  continuance  of  this  abominable  traffic,  which 
even  its  friends  think  so  intolerable  that  it  ought  to  be  crushed.  Jamaica  has 
imported  150,000  negroes  in  the  course  of  twenty  years,  and  this  is  admitted  to 
be  only  one-tenth  of  the  trade.  Was  there  ever,  can  there  be,  anything  beyond 
the  enormity  of  this  infamous  traffic  ?  The  very  thought  of  it  is  beyond  huma» 
endurance.  It  is  allowed,  however,  that  the  trade  is  infamous,  but  the  aboli- 
tion of  it  is  resolvable  to  a  question  of  expediency  ;  and  then,  when  the  trade 
is  argued  as  a  commercial  case,  its  advocates,  in  order  to  continue  it,  desert 
even  the  principles  of  commerce  ;  so  that  a  traffic  in  the  liberty,  the  blood. 


1  li>         THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION. 

The  theoretic  credence, .  however,  gained  ground,  and 
was  powerfully  aided  by  a  more  accurate  knowledge  of 
the  enormities  that  Britons  practised  on  Africans  under 
shelter  of  British  law.  Authentic  information  was 
obtained  and  disseminated,  and  at  last  a  great  combin- 
ation of  knowledge  and  reason  was  brought  to  bear  against 
the  iniquity.  Political  justice,  however,  is  a  plant  of  slow 
growth ;  and  years  of  debate,  of  contest  between  truth 
and  falsehood,  were  necessary,  before  even  the  trading  in 
human  blood,  the  buying  and  selling  of  man,  who  was 
made  in  the  image  of  the  Creator,  ceased  to  receive  the 
sanction  of  the  most  enlightened  and  freest  state  in  the 
world.  And  here  we  cannot  fail  to  remark  one  circum- 
stance that  has  almost  invariably  accompanied  every 
political  change  which  had  for  its  object  the  destruction 
of  an  injustice.  We  mean  the  outcry  about  the  evils  that 
would  follow.  No  sooner  has  any  one,  more  enlightened 
or  more  impartial  than  his  neighbors,  insisted  on  an  act  of 
justice  (which,  after  all,  let  it  never  be  forgotten,  is  only 
the  refraining  from  injustice),  than  all  the  evils  in  the 
category  are  immediately  prognosticated,  as  if  the  doing 
of  God's  will  were  to  let  loose  hell  to  ravage  the  earth.* 

When  the  emancipation  of  the  African  was  spoken  of, 


the  life  of  human  beings,  is  not  to  have  even  the  advantages  of  the  common 
rules  of  arithmetic  which  govern  all  other  commercial  dealings." — Pitt's  Speech, 
April  1792. 

*  To  Mr.  Alderman  Watson  belongs  the  unenviable  honor  of  having  presented 
this  kind  of  argument  in  a  form  that  may  serve  as  a  model  for  those  who  seek 
to  prevent  change,  and  as  a  type  of  the  argument  by  which  economists  have  so 
often  endeavored  to  evade  justice,  by  advancing  the  most  glaring  absurdities 
and  the  most  unblushing  lies.  "  Mr.  Alderman  Watson  said,  that  the  natives 
were  taken  from  a  worse  state  of  slavery  in  their  own  country  to  one  more 
mild.  The  abolition  of  the  trade  would  ruin  the  West  Indies,  destroy  our  New- 
foundland fishery,  which  the  slaves  of  the  West  Indies  supported,  by  consum- 
ing that  part  of  the  fish  which  was  fit  for  no  other  consumption  (!)  ;  and  conse- 
quently, by  cutting  off  the  great  source  of  seamen,  annihilate  our  marine." — 
Debate,  H,  C.,  1791.  Such  were  the  arguments  used,  and  successfully  used,  in 
the  British  House  of  Commons,  for  perpetuating  a  system,  the  cruelties  of 
which  have  probably  never  been  surpassed,  whet  her  we  consider  their  severity, 
their  extent,  or  the  length  of  their  duration. 


THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION.         113 

and  when  the  nation  of  Britain  appeared  to  be  taking  into 
serious  consideration  the  rightfulness  of  abolishing  slavery, 
what  tremendous  evils  were  to  follow !  Trade  was  to  be 
ruined,  commerce  was  almost  to  cease,  and  manufacturers 
were  to  be  bankrupts.  Worse  than  all,  private  property 
was  to  be  invaded  (property  in  human  flesh),  the  rights  of 
planters  sacrificed  to  the  speculative  notions  of  fanatics, 
and  the  British  government  was  to  commit  an  act  that 
would  forever  deprive  it  of  the  confidence  of  British 
subjects.  These  evils  at  home  were,  of  course,  to  be 
accompanied  by  others  abroad  much  more  tremendous. 
The  West  India  islands  were,  of  course,  to  be  ruined  past 
all  possible  hope  of  recovery ;  the  blacks  were  to  in- 
surge  and  to  destroy  the  white  population ;  a  moral  hur- 
ricane, ten  times  more  dreadful  than  the  winds  of  heaven, 
was  to  sweep  across  the  Caribbean  Sea ;  blood  was  to  flow 
like  water;  the  emancipated  slave  was  to  celebrate  the 
first  moment  of  his  liberty  with  rape,  rapine,  and  murder; 
evils  unheard  of  and  inconceivable  were  to  astonish  the 
earth ;  the  very  heavens  were  to  fall.  And  why  ?  Because 
British  subjects  were  no  longer  to  be  permitted  by  British 
law  to  hold  their  fellow  men  in  slavery  on  British  ground.* 

*  To  show  how  correct  credence  progresses,  even  where  we  least  suspect  it, 
we  have  only  to  turn  to  Fox's  speech,  April  1791.  After  a  noble  appeal  for  the 
suppression  of  the  trade,  and  a  full  declaration  of  the  natural  rights  of  man — 
after  citing  the  doctrine  of  Christianity,  that  "high  and  low,  rich  and  poor,  are 
equal  in  the  sight  of  God,"  and  the  fact  that  slavery  has  ever  disappeared  before 
the  progress  of  Christ's  religion— after  bursts  of  noble  and  generous  eloquence 
on  behalf  of  the  negro— he  concludes  by  falling  into  the  common  snare,  and 
stumbles  at  the  evils  that  would  follow  the  emancipation.  The  trade  he  would 
suppress ;  and  so  far  his  credence  was  correct ;  but  he  had  not  progressed  so 
far  in  correct  credence  (although  necessarily  flowing  from  his  own  principles) 
as  to  advocate  the  suppression  of  slavery  in  the  West  India  Islands.  Mr.  Fox 
said,  "  That  if  it  were  asked  whether  they  meant  also  to  abolish  slavery  in  the 
West  Indies,  he  would  candidly  say  he  was  sorry  he  could  not  go  so  far.  It  was 
possible  for  men  to  be  slaves  so  long  as  to  make  it  dangerous  all  at  once  to  give 
them  liberty,"  etc. — that  is  dangerous  to  refrain  from  oppressing  them  by  force  ; 
for  the  moment  the  positive  and  forcible  oppression  is  withdrawn,  the  man  be- 
comes free.  What  Fox,  however,  could  not  see  to  be  correct,  the  religious 
community  of  England  saw  more  clearly  ;  and  for  half  a  century  a  great  com- 
bination of  knowledge,  reason,  and  religion,  maintained  a  contest  that  finally 
resulted  in  the  purchase  of  the  emancipation  at  the  expense  of  £20,000,000. 

8 


114         THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION. 

With  regard  to  the  emancipation  of  the  negroes,  we 
have  two  remarks  to  offer. 

First,  The  legalizing  of  slavery  was  positive,  the  emanci- 
pation negative. 

This  distinction  we  hold  to  be  of  importance,  as  it  helps 
to  point  out  how  far  legislation  is  legitimate. 

To  emancipate  a  slave  is  merely  to  refrain  from  exer- 
cising that  power  which  keeps  him  in  bondage ;  and  when 
the  question  of  emancipation  arises  the  question  is  not 
one  of  performing  a  positive  act,  but  of  refraining  from 
performing  a  series  of  positive  acts,  by  which  another  is 
deprived  of  his  natural  liberty. 

Every  moment  that  a  negro  was  kept  a  slave,  he  was 
so  kept  by  the  positive  power  of  the  British  law,  backed 
by  the  British  arms ;  for  had  the  negro  said  (as  he  had 
an  undoubted  right  to  say),  "  You  wish  to  oppress  me, 
therefore  I  stand  on  my  defence,"  the  strong  arm  of  the 
law  would  immediately  have  appeared  against  him,  and 
reduced  him  again  to  slavery. 

The  law  was  a  positive  enactment  armed  with  power, 
and  the  moment  the  law  ceased  to  exist  the  negro  was 
emancipated,  not  by  the  law,  but  by  nature.  The  law 
may  make  a  slave,  but  it  is  beyond  the  power  of  the  law 
to  make  a  freeman.  These  laws  were  of  course  made  by 
human  legislators,  and  the  question  arises,  "  Has  any 
human  legislator  or  body  of  legislators  a  right  to  reduce 
any  individual  whatever  to  slavery  ?  "  "  Clearly  not,"  is 
the  answer  now  given  by  Britons  ;  and  if  so,  then  could 
there  never  be  justly  a  question  of  gradual  abolition,  for 
gradual  abolition  only  means,  "  Shall  we  continue  posi- 
tively to  exercise  our  power  for  so  many  years  to  come  for 
the  purpose  of  keeping  men  in  slavery?"  The  only 
question  that  can  ever  be  legitimately  taken  into  consider- 
ation, with  regard  to  slavery,  is  immediate  and  total 
abolition,  and  so  of  all  similar  cases  where  injustice  is 
established  or  systematically  perpetuated  by  law. 


THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION.         115 

Second,  The  people  of  Great  Britain  were  taxed  by 
force  for  the  purpose  of  paying  the  planters  for  their 
slaves.  Theoretically,  the.  Commons  imposed  the  taxa- 
tion on  themselves ;  but  nine-tenths  of  the  population 
have  nothing  to  do  with  the  election  of  members  of  parlia- 
ment, and,  so  far  as  they  were  concerned,  the  taxation 
was  ab  extra — forced  on  them  by  a  government  which 
they  had  no  voice  in  electing.  We  maintain  that  this  act 
was  one  of  downright  injustice  and  oppression,  whatever 
may  be  said  of  its  magnanimity. 

The  planters  knew  perfectly  well  that  they  never  had 
a  moral  right  to  the  slaves,  and  consequently  they  could 
have  no  moral  claim  to  compensation.  Now,  the  slave- 
laws  were  not  enacted  by  this  generation,  and  it  is 
admitted  that  those  who  enacted  them  had  no  possible 
right  to  do  so.  The  payment  of  the  twenty  millions, 
therefore,  resolves  itself  into  this,  "The  law  of  Britain 
will  not  cease  to  lend  its  aid  and  its  arm  to  perpetuate 
slavery,  unless  the  people  of  Britain  pay  an  immense 
sum  to  the  planters."  The  only  course  that  was  really 
legitimate  was  for  the  government  of  Britain  to  declare 
that  it  had  no  possible  right  to  make  or  keep  men  slaves, 
and  at  once  to  expunge  the  statutes,  letting  the  planters 
take  their  chance,  at  the  same  time  protecting  the  negroes, 
as  British  subjects,  born  on  British  ground.  A  few  years 
ago,  the  French  law  authorized  gambling  houses.  Now, 
will  it  be  maintained  that  the  keepers  of  those  "hells" 
had  any  just  claim  for  compensation  against  the  laboring 
population  of  France?  (Or  the  keepers  of  those  other 
houses  which  the  law  still  sanctions?)  It  was  a  just,  and, 
as  the  world  goes,  a  glorious  thing  for  Britain  to  abolish 
slavery  as  it  did  ;  but  most  certainly  the  laboring  man  of 
England,  who  pays  five  per  cent  on  his  tea,  sugar,  and 
tobacco,  to  pay  the  planters,  is  as  surely  oppressed  and 
defrauded  as  was  the  negro,  although  not  to  the  same 
extent.  No  man  in  the  world,  and  no  association  in  the 


116         THE  THEORY  OF  HUNAN  PROGRESSION. 

world,  could  ever  have  an  equitable  right  to  tax  a  laborer 
for  the  purpose  of  remunerating  a  man-robber;  and, 
although  the  measure  is  now  passed  and  done  with,  we 
very  much  question  whether  some  analogous  cases  will 
not  be  cleared  up  by  the  mass  of  the  nation  ere  many 
years  pass  over  the  heads  of  Englishmen.  When  the 
question  of  landed  property  comes  to  a  definite  discussion, 
there  may  be  little  thought  of  compensation. 

The  other  instance  of  a  great  and  successful  combina- 
tion, in  which  knowledge  and  reason  triumphed  over  the 
law,  the  government,  and  the  privileged  classes  of  the 
country,  was  recently  exhibited  in  the  repeal  of  the  corn- 
laws. 

The  case  of  the  corn-laws  appears  to  have  been  this. 
The  seller  of  the  raw  material  being  the  official  governor 
of  the  country,  enacted  a  statute  to  enhance  the  price  of 
the  manufactured  product,  thereby  obtaining  for  himself, 
in  his  private  capacity,  a  higher  price  from  the  manufac- 
turer for  his  raw  material.* 

The  seller  of  the  raw  material  was  the  landowner,  and 
the  raw  material  sold  (or  rented  for  a  longer  or  shorter 
period)  was  the  productive  power  of  the  land. 

The  manufacturer  and  retail  merchant  was  the  farmer. 
The  article  manufactured  and  sold  was  corn,  and  the 
consumer  was  the  mass  of  the  population. 

The  farmer,  in  taking  a  farm,  has  three  great  subjects 
to  consider,  1st,  The  quantity  of  produce.  2d,  The  prob- 
able price  of  produce.  3d,  Amount  of  rent.f 

The  first  question  which  the  would-be  farmer  has  to 

*  See  Note  A,  Appendix. 

t  The  expense  of  producing  (exclusive  of  rent)  we  do  not  take  into  consider- 
ation, as  that  on  any  given  farm  is  not  subject  to  such  fluctuation  as  either  to 
"  make  or  break  "  the  farmer.  Experimental  farmers  may,  of  course,  ruin 
themselves  by  a  bad  investment  in  labor,  etc.  ;  but  the  expense  of  improvement 
should  be  distinguished  from  the  expense  of  current  cultivation,  and  we  believe 
that  the  latter  expense  may,  in  the  matter  of  the  corn-laws,  be  assumed  as  a 
fixed  quantity,  although,  in  reality,  varying  with  the  value  of  money  where 
money  wages  are  paid,  and  with  the  value  of  produce  where  the  laborers  are 
fed. 


THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PMOGBESS1ON.         117 

answer,  is,  "  Can  he  make  a  profit  by  taking  land  from 
the  landowner,  and  selling  corn  to  the  consumer?  "  This 
question  he  has  to  answer  by  a  comparison  of  the  whole 
expense  with  the  whole  value  of  produce.  And  first,  in 
current  agriculture  (that  is,  agriculture  divested  of  the 
extraneous  expense  of  draining,  building,  etc.,  which 
come  under  the  head  of  improvement  of  the  farm,  and 
not  mere  cultivation),  a  given  farm  is  estimated  to  pro- 
duce a  certain  average  quantity  of  grain.  This  quantity 
is  the  first  item  to  be  considered,  as  it  is  the  basis  of  all 
future  calculation.  A  certain  portion  of  this  quantity  is 
requisite  for  consumption,  and  the  remainder  is  market- 
able. The  marketable  portion,  being  the  real  merchandise 
which  the  farmer  buys  and  retails  again,  must  always  be 
assumed  at  a  certain  value  in  the  terms  of  the  price  paid  for 
it.  Whatever  price  the  farmer  pays  for  his  marketable 
corn,  he  must  expect,  on  the  first  principle  of  commerce,  to 
receive  a  larger  price  (in  the  same  terms)  from  the  con- 
sumer. This  larger  price  is  the  whole  ultimate  object  of 
the  farmer ;  and  provided  it  is  sufficient  he  is  satisfied. 
To  him  it  makes  no  possible  difference  what  the  real  price, 
paid  or  obtained,  is  provided  the  proportion  between  them 
be  such  as  to  leave  a  sufficient  balance  in  his  favor. 
What  he  wants  is  profit ;  and  provided  he  makes  a  suffi- 
cient profit,  it  matters  little  to  him  how  that  profit  comes. 

Our  object  in  making  these  remarks  is  to  show  that 
the  absolute  amount  of  rent  paid  by  the  farmer  is  really  a 
matter  of  indifference  to  him.  If  all  the  rents  in  the 
country  were  suddenly  to  be  doubled,  or  increased  tenfold, 
it  would  not  injure  the  farmer,  provided  the  price  of  his 
marketable  grain  were  to  increase  in  such  a  proportion  as 
to  leave  him  the  same  real  profit.  His  condition  would 
be  exactly  the  same  as  at  present ;  he  would  be  neither 
richer  nor  poorer,  nor  would  he  know  the  difference, 
except  in  the  nominal  value  of  his  rent  and  produce. 

The  fluctuating  quantities  on  which  the  farmer  depends 


118         THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION. 

are  price  of  grain  and  rent.  Assuming  that  he  has 
calculated  or  estimated  the  average  marketable  quantity 
of  corn  for  the  currency  of  his  lease,  he  then  depends  on 
the  relation  between  his  rent  and  the  price  of  grain.  If 
the  price  of  grain  be  high,  his  rent  may  be  high,  if  low,  his 
rent  must  be  low,  to  leave  him  a  sufficient  profit,  which 
is  all  he  has  to  contend  for. 

This  then  appears  to  have  been  the  essence  of  the  corn- 
laws.  At  the  price  at  which  corn  would  be  sold  in  the 
English  market,  provided  that  market  were  open  to  all 
the  world,  the  fanner  could  only  pay  a  certain  rent  for 
land  ;  but,  provided  all  foreign  competition  was  excluded 
up  to  a  given  point,  the  farmer  could  afford  to  pay  a  much 
higher  rent  for  land,  and  yet  derive  the  same  real  profit. 

To  a  country,  however,  that  produces  quite  sufficient 
corn  for  the  consumption  of  its  inhabitants,  a  tax  on  for- 
eign corn  is  of  little  moment ;  and  it  is  only  when  the 
home  produce  is  insufficient,  or  barely  sufficient  for  the 
demand,  that  the  influence  of  the  tax  is  felt,  and  then  its 
operation  is  neither  more  nor  less  than  starving  the  in- 
habitants into  paying  a  higher  price  than  nature  would 
have  supplied  them  at. 

When,  however,  we  turn  to  the  class  by  whom  the  corn- 
tax  was  imposed,  and  find  that,  so  far  from  being  disin- 
terested legislators,  they  were  in  reality  the  landowners — 
the  wholesale  merchants  of  the  raw  material — the  tax 
assumes  another  form,  and  becomes,  in  fact,  a  tax  to  pro- 
duce more  rent  through  the  pressure  of  starvation.  Not 
that  people  would  in  reality  starve,  but  that  they  would 
escape  the  pressure  of  starvation  by  giving  more  for  food, 
which  more  would  pass  through  the  pocket  of  the  farmer 
into  that  of  the  landowner. 

The  ostensible  reason  advanced  (and  perhaps  sincerely 
by  some)  for  the  imposition  of  the  corn-laws,  was  the 
encouragement  of  agriculture ;  that  is,  the  putting  money 
into  the  pockets  of  agriculturists.  But  the  laws  were 


THE  TFIEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION.         119 

found  at  last  to  be  eminently  detrimental  to  the  farmer 
(on  account  of  the  fluctuations  of  price),  as  well  as  ruinous 
to  another  class  of  which  we  have  not  spoken ;  namely, 
the  manufacturers  and  manufacturing  artisans  of  the 
country,  who  now  form  the  largest  portion  of  the  popula- 
tion. The  farmer  was  deluded  into  the  idea  of  obtaining 
a  high  price  for  corn,  and  naturally  gave,  or  stipulated  to 
give,  a  high  price  for  land.  The  evil  was  unseen  in  its 
real  malignity,  until  it  pleased  God,  in  the  bounty  of  his 
providence,  to  send  such  abundant  harvests  (1835,  1836) 
that  the  corn-tax  was  defeated.  The  farmers  were  then 
reduced  to  sell  at  a  natural  price,  while  they  had  to  pay  a 
taxation  rent,  and  of  course  they  felt  the  weight  of  that 
system  of  legislation  which  attempted  to  amend  the  order 
of  Providence,  and  on  which  with  all  its  nice  adjustments, 
the  landed  legislators  had  descanted  so  wisely. 

The  low  price  of  corn  at  that  period  let  the  manufactur- 
ers into  a  secret;  they  obtained  great  sums  of  money,  and 
with  the  money  obtained  what  was  of  more  value  to  the 
country — they  obtained  knowledge.  They  were  taught 
that  their  commercial  prosperity  depended,  in  a  great  mea- 
sure, on  the  low  price  of  corn  in  Britain  ;  and  a  very  cur- 
sory consideration  may  explain  how  this  happens.  Let 
us  suppose  that  there  are  five  millions  of  the  laboring 
population  who  have  a  gross  income  of  from  10s.  or  12s. 
to  30s.  or  40s.  per  week.  The  laborer,  out  of  his  income, 
has  to  provide  the  three  great  requisites — food,  shelter, 
and  raiment ;  and,  even  at  the  best  and  most  prosperous 
of  times,  his  earnings  are  not  much  more  than  sufficient 
to  procure  these  in  decent  abundance.  Now,  let  any  sup- 
position whatever  be  made  with  regard  to  the  rise  or  fall 
of  wages,  and  the  rise  or  fall  of  the  price  of  corn,  it  is 
evident  that  the  manufacturers  of  Great  Britain  must  be 
injured  by  a  high  price  of  corn.  For,  first,  let  it  be  granted 
that  wages  rise  with  the  price  of  corn  (which  is  certainly 
not  the  case),  then  the  expense  of  manufacturing  increases 


120          THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION. 

on  account  of  the  increase  of  wages  and  the  foreign  market 
is  supplied  with  dear  goods — that  is  (for  in  commerce  it  is 
much  the  same  thing),  the  foreign  sales  must  decrease 
on  account  of  the  rise  in  price.  The  difference  of  a  few 
pence  may  stop  the  sale  of  a  certain  description  of  goods, 
and  stopping  the  sale  stops  the  manufacture,  the  manu- 
facturer's profit,  and  the  employment  of  the  artisans. 
But,  second,  let  us  ask  how  the  home  market  is  affected 
by  a  great  rise  or  fall  in  the  price  of  corn,  while  wages 
remain  nearly  the  same,  as  in  reality  they  do,  with  the 
majority  of  the  laboring  population?  Let  us  suppose 
that  wheat  is  at  40s.  per  quarter,  and  that  a  laborer's 
family  consumes  4s.  worth  of  bread  per  week.  Pie  then 
has  the  remainder  of  his  week's  income  to  dispose  of  in 
the  purchase  of  his  other  requisites.  But  let  wheat  rise 
to  80s.  per  quarter,  and  he  must  than  expend  8s.  per  week 
for  the  same  quantity  of  bread  that  he  previously  pur- 
chased for  4s.  We  have  here  a  difference  of  4s.  per 
week ;  and  the  question  is,  What  does  the  laborer  do 
with  those  4s.  when  bread  is  cheap  ?  The  answer  is  very 
simple — he  spends  it  with  the  manufacturer.  He  wants 
a  coat  and  a  hat,  and  shoes,  and  hose,  and  shirts ;  and 
his  wife  wants  a  gown  and  a  bonnet ;  and  the  children 
want  frocks  and  pinafores ;  and  the  bed  would  be  the 
better  for  an  extra  blanket  or  two,  and  some  sheets.  Nor 
is  this  all :  the  little  furniture  of  his  home  wants  replen- 
ishing; the  knives  and  forks  are  too  few,  and  the  children 
exceed  the  spoons.  The  plates  and  dishes  which  were 
broken  in  the  dear  times  could  not  then  be  replaced  ;  but 
now,  when  corn  is  cheap,  visions  of  a  new  set  flit  before 
the  imagination  of  the  thrifty  housewife.  Perhaps  even  a 
clock  is  purchased,  and  it  is  most  likely  that  some  addition 
will  be  made  to  the  little  stock  of  books.  The  laborer  is 
at  ease  in  his  circumstances,  because  he  has  this  little 
revenue  of  4s.  a  week  to  come  and  go  on.  It  is  true,  he  * 
must  lay  it  out  carefully  ;  but  then  how  different  to  have 


THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PliOGRESSlOJf.  21 

it  to  think  about,  instead  of  having  it  screwed  out  of  him 
by  a  crying  pressure  for  food !  When  he  has  it,  he  feels 
himself  a  free  man,  he  has  a  new  social  and  domestic 
existence,  he  is  a  buyer  from  choice,  not  from  necessity ; 
and  the  family  deliberations  as  to  how  it  shall  be  spent, 
give  a  new  interest  to  the  hours  he  spends  at  home.  All 
goes  on  merrily,  and  old  England  is  worth  all  the  coun- 
tries under  the  sun. 

Let  us  take  even  a  moderate  estimate  of  this  4s.  a  week, 
and  we  shall  see  how  vast  a  sum  it  amounts  to  in  the 
course  of  a  year.  Suppose  that  five  millions  have  it  to 
spend,  and  that  those  five  millions  spend  £10  with  the 
manufacturers.  Fifty  millions  sterling  arising  from  the 
difference  in  the  price  of  corn !  Had  the  corn-laws  oper- 
ated according  to  the  intentions  of  land-proprietors,  and 
kept  wheat  at  80s.  in  the  year  1836,  there  can  be  no 
doubt  whatever  that  they  would  have  deprived  the  labor- 
ing population  of  fifty  millions  worth  of  goods,  and  the 
manufacturers  of  fifty  millions  worth  of  sales,  as  directly 
as  if  those  fifty  millions  had  been  wrested  by  violence 
from  the  laborer ;  but  this  is  one  of  the  facts  which  the 
indirect  system  of  taxation  is  employed  to  conceal.* 

The  repeal  of  the  corn-laws  was  effected  by  a  great  com- 
bination of  knowledge  and  reason, — such,  perhaps,  as  we 

*  Since  writing  the  above,  we  have  seen  the  following  notice  of  the  "  prosper- 
ous state  of  the  kingdom,"  A.D.  1836,  in  Wade's  excellent  "  British  History, 
chronologically  arranged  "  :— 

"  At  the  close  of  the  past,  and  commencement  of  the  present  year,  the  United 
Kingdom  exhibited  unusual  signs  of  internal  contentment  and  general  pros- 
perity. With  the  exception  of  partial  depression  of  agriculture,  all  the  great 
branches  of  national  industry  were  unusually  prosperous.  '  In  the  great  cloth- 
ing districts  of  Yorkshire  and  Lancashire,  the  times  were  never  known  to  be 
more  favorable.  In  spite  of  the  great  development  of  the  cotton  trade,  it  still 
continued  to  expand,  and  its  utmost  bounds  seemed  illimitable.  It  was  the 
same  with  the  woollen  manufacturers  of  Leeds  and  Huddersfleld,  the  stuff 
manufacturer  of  Bradford  and  Halifax,  the  linen  manufacture  of  Barnsley  and 
Knaresborough,  the  blanket  and  flannel  manufactures  of  Dewsbury  and  Roch- 
dale ;  they  were  all  thriving.  Even  in  the  silk  trade  of  Macclesfleld,  Coventry, 
and  Spitalfleld  there  were  no  complaints  :  no  more  than  in  the  lace  trades  of 
Nottingham,  Derby,  and  Leicester.  The  potteries  of  Staffordshire  continued 
prosperous,  and  the  iron  trade  in  all  its  branches  was  unusually  flourishing." 


122        TUE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION. 

might  look  for  in  vain  in  the  history  of  any  other  Euro- 
pean country.  Certain  individuals  found  that  their  law- 
ful interests  were  seriously  injured  by  the  interference  of 
the  enactments,  and  they  resolved  to  make  an  effort  for 
the  abolition  of  those  enactments.  Of  themselves  they 
were  utterly  powerless,  and  all  their  individual  exertions 
would  have  been  ineffectual  to  achieve  their  end.  They 
had,  however,  knowledge  and  reason  on  their  side  ;  that 
is,  they  were  in  possession  of  certain  facts,  which  led  by 
necessary  inference  to  the  conclusion,  that  the  corn-laws 
were  eminently  prejudicial  in  their  operation,  and  that 
therefore  the  corn-laws  should  no  longer  be  allowed  to 
exist.  Conscious  that  they  had  truth  on  their  side,  they 
came  fearlessly  before  the  nation,  and  staked  their  cause 
on  the  power  of  truth  to  convince  the  mass  of  the  popula- 
tion. They  lectured,  and  published,  and  spoke,  and  argued, 
all  for  one  specific  end  ;  namely,  to  communicate  knowl- 
edge to  the  nation,  and  thereby  to  make  the  nation  change 
its  credence  on  the  subject  of  the  corn-laws.  The  truth 
gradually  prevailed ;  that  is,  was  generally  disseminated ; 
that  is,  the  same  knowledge  was  received  by  a  larger 
number  of  individuals,  who  naturally  drew  the  same 
necessary  inference.  A  great  combination  was  formed, 
such  as  must  ever  remain  one  of  the  historic  glories  of 
Britain  and  of  Britons.  It  was  essentially  a  combination 
of  knowledge  and  reason;  and  well-grounded  argument 
was  the  only  weapon  with  which  it  maintained  the  con- 
test. Far  more  was  involved  than  a  mere  change  in  the 
economical  laws  of  the  kingdom ;  it  was  a  contest  between 
the  two  great  classes  of  British  society — the  unprivileged 
laborers  and  the  privileged  landowners.  The  privileged 
classes,  almost  to  a  man,  were  against  the  change ;  and 
they  also,  on  their  side,  endeavored  to  establish  a  com- 
bination— a  combination  of  class  interest,  in  which  the 
only  available  argument  was  the  pecuniary  interest  of 
the  order.  The  exertions  made  by  the  anti-corn-law  party 


THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION.         123 

to  convince  the  judgment  of  the  nation  were  prodigious  ; 
and  never  had  any  political  agitation  so  much  the  appear- 
ance of  instructing,  and  so  little  the  appearance  of  excit- 
ing the  passions.  Instead  of  the  vague  harangues  of  noisy 
and  designing  demagogues,  there  was  the  sober  com- 
munication of  information  which  would  have  been  in- 
teresting and  instructive,  even  had  it  been  altogether 
unconnected  with  the  great  practical  consequence.  The 
nation  was  convinced  at  last ;  and  notwithstanding  all 
the  influence  of  the  aristocracy,  and  all  the  unwillingness 
of  the  Government,  the  laws  were  repealed,  and,  as  there 
is  every  reason  to  suppose,  abolished  forever. 

In  these  two  cases  (the  abolition  of  negro  slavery  and 
the  repeal  of  the  corn-laws)  we  have  an  illustration  of 
some  of  the  great  principles  which  are  called  into  opera- 
tion, whenever  the  social  condition  of  the  community  is 
ameliorated  and  rendered  more  consistent  with  the  dic- 
tates of  reason  and  religion. 

1st,  The  only  action  that  is  a  political  crime,  is  a  for- 
cible, fraudulent,  or  licentious  interference  of  one  man 
with  another.  Such  actions,  and  such  actions  alone,  is  it 
competent  for  any  legislature  to  prohibit,  unless  with  the 
free  consent  of  all  who  are  to  be  affected  by  the  law. 
Where  there  is  no  interference  there  is  no  political  crime, 
and  consequently  nothing  which  the  legislature  can  justly 
prohibit. 

2d,  Both  the  slave- laws  and  the  corn-laws  were  d  priori 
enactments,  to  prevent  men  from  doing  actions  which 
were  in  nowise  criminal.  They  were  positive  enactments 
to  restrain  and  diminish  the  natural  liberty  of  men  who 
had  infringed  no  law  of  equity,  and  who  had  in  no  respect 
injured  their  fellow-men  by  force,  fraud,  or  licentiousness. 

3d,  The  legislators  of  the  country  were,  in  their  private 
capacity,  extensively  interested  in  the  maintenance  of  the 
unjust  laws ;  and  thus,  in  opposing  their  repeal,  were 
using  their  official  influence  for  their  own  personal  ad- 


124        THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION. 

vantage,  to  the  eminent  detriment  of  their  fellow-subjects. 
Those,  therefore,  who  were  interested,  either  as  slave- 
owners or  landed  proprietors,  were  (according  to  the 
principle,  that  a  man  ought  not  to  be  judge  in  his  own 
cause)  incompetent  to  sit  in  deliberation  on  their  repeal. 

4th,  The  institutes  of  nature,  as  established  by  God's 
providence  in  the  world,  teach  us  that  a  man  should  labor 
for  the  advantage  of  himself  and  of  his  family ;  but  all 
slave  laws  are  attempts  to  controvert  this  principle,  and 
blasphemously  to  overrule  the  order  of  nature,  as  estab- 
lished by  the  Divine  Being.  All  slave  laws  make  freedom 
criminal,  and  thus  establish  an  artificial  rule  of  morality, 
which  gives  entrance  to  every  kind  of  political  error,  and 
consequently  to  every  kind  of  political  licentiousness. 

5th,  To  transfer  corn  from  one  part  of  the  world  to  an- 
other, according  to  the  necessities  of  the  inhabitants,  so 
far  from  being  an  act  which  requires  restriction  or  pro- 
hibition, is  an  act  which  every  man  has  a  natural  right  to 
perform  for  his  own  commercial  advantage,  and  which  no 
legislature  is  competent  to  restrict  or  prohibit,  unless  it 
be  admitted  that  the  legislature  stands  in  the  place  of  the 
Divine  Being,  and  that  all  the  ordinary  acts  of  life  are  to 
be  performed  only  on  its  supreme  permission. 

6th,  Both  the  slave  and  corn  laws  were  enactments  to 
restrict  or  prohibit  men  from  performing  actions  which 
were  naturally  proper,  profitable,  and  legitimate  ;  that  is, 
to  prevent  the  negro  from  laboring  for  his  own  advantage, 
and  the  trader  from  engaging  in  legitimate  commerce ; 
the  repeal  of  those  laws,  therefore,  did  not  consist  of  any 
positive  enactment,  but  of  the  removal  of  legislative  inter- 
ference from  actions  which  in  themselves  were  naturally 
legitimate.  The  abolition  of  those  laws,  therefore,  was 
only  to  allow  things  to  remain  as  they  were  established 
by  nature ;  and  when  the  world  discovers  that  God  has 
constituted  nature  aright,  men  will  have  arrived  at  the 
first  and  greatest  principle  of  social  science. 


THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION.        125 

7th,  The  abolition  of  the  slave  and  corn  laws  was  only 
attained  after  a  long  and  arduous  struggle  ;  and  though 
horrible  iniquities  were  committed  under  the  sanction  of 
the  former,  and  great  national  detriment  was  produced 
by  the  latter ;  and  though  the  nation  was  long  convinced 
of  the  propriety  of  repealing  the  unjust  and  injurious 
enactments — the  country  was  for  years  compelled  to  bear 
the  sin  of  the  injustice,  and  to  suffer  the  national  detri- 
ment, because  the  legislators  refused  to  remove  restric- 
tions whose  nature  was  infamous,  and  whose  fruits  were 
evil  continually. 

8th,  The  legislature  of  Great  Britain,  so  far  from 
taking  the  initiative  in  the  repeal  of  the  slave  and  corn 
laws,  offered  every  possible  opposition  to  the  wishes  of 
the  nation ;  and  it  was  only  when  the  pressure  from  with- 
out became  so  imperative  that  further  resistance  might 
have  been  dangerous,  that  the  deliberative  assembly  of 
the  freest  state  in  the  world,  declared  that  it  was  not  a 
crime  for  a  man  with  a  dark  skin  to  enjoy  natural  free- 
dom, or  for  a  trader  to  import  corn  without  being  subject 
to  a  tax  so  enormous,  that  it  usually  operated  as  a  pro- 
hibition. 

9th,  The  slave  and  corn  laws  were  at  last  repealed, 
by  a  process  which  we  doubt  not  will  ultimately  achieve 
the  repeal  of  every  law  which  restricts  or  prohibits 
actions  not  naturally  criminal — the  wiser  and  better  part 
of  the  nation  combined  against  the  legislature — on  the 
one  hand  Avere  knowledge,  reason,  and  religion ;  on  the 
other,  prescriptive  privilege,  and  the  will  of  the  legislator. 

10th,  The  two  cases  which  we  have  adduced  represent 
two  great  classes  of  cases,  against  each  of  which  a  partic- 
ular argument  is  employed.  The  abolition  of  slavery 
was  a  question  of  justice  (equity) ;  the  abolition  of  the 
corn-laws,  a  question  of  benefit  (economy). 

The  argument  of  justice,  however  it  may  be  extended 
and  illustrated,  may  always  be  summed  up  in  this, 


1-26         THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION. 

"  Refrain  from  interfering  by  fraud  or  force  with  an- 
other ; "  and,  although  no  precept  can  be  more  in  har- 
mony with  the  dictates  of  natural  reason  and  with  the 
injunctions  of  divine  revelation,  it  must  be  confessed 
that  this  argument  is  among  the  least  powerful  to  in- 
fluence men,  or  to  induce  them  to  form  their  conduct 
aright.  History  teaches  us,  that  it  is  not  sufficient  for 
men  to  know  that  an  action  or  an  enactment  is  unjust  to 
induce  them  to  abandon  the  action,  or  to  abolish  the  en- 
actment; for  this  they  seldom  do  until  the  evidence  of 
the  evil  fruits  of  the  injustice  are  so  superabundant,  that 
no  mere  sophism  can  be  longer  held  as  an  excuse.  The 
argument  of  justice,  instead  of  being  the  most  practically 
influential,  as  it  is  the  most  morally  valid,  is  seldom  of 
avail  until  backed  by  a  knowledge  of  the  economical 
evils  that  never  in  any  one  case  fail  to  accompany  injus- 
tice ;  and  though  the  voice  of  God,  and  the  voice  of  uni- 
versal reason  may  ever  be  heard  proclaiming,  "  Do  not 
unto  others  as  ye  would  not  that  others  should  do  unto 
you,"  it  is  not  until  some  summation  of  evil  consequences 
has  convinced  men  of  their  error,  that  they  abandon 
their  course  of  lawless  selfishness,  and  allow  the  constitu- 
tion of  society  to  remain  on  the  natural  footing  estab- 
lished by  the  Creator.  And  in  this  we  may  see  the 
reason  why  the  political  progress  of  mankind  has  been  so 
slow,  and  why  an  extensive  knowledge  of  facts  must 
accompany  an  admission  of  principles,  before  societies 
awake  to  the  necessity  of  remodelling  their  constitution, 
and  returning  from  the  systems  established  in  barbarous 
ages,  to  the  more  simple  and  equitable  system  which  the 
eye  of  reason  may  read  in  the  constitution  of  harmonious 
nature.  It  is  ever  immutably  and  irrevocably  wrong, 
that  any  man,  or  any  body  of  men  whatever,  should  con- 
strain another  man,  not  a  criminal,  to  labor  for  the  ad- 
vantage of  any  save  himself  and  his  kindred ;  yet  half 
a  century  of  agitation  was  necessary  before  England 


THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION.         127 

withdrew  her  oppressing  arm  from  the  negro;  and  then 
the  negro  was  only  emancipated  by  wresting  his  price 
from  the  population  of  Britain. 

The  argument  of  justice  may  thus  be  pure  or  mixed  ; 
pure,  when  it  confines  itself  to  the  dogma,  "  Refrain  from 
interference," — mixed,  when  it  collects  and  exhibits  the 
evil  consequences  of  interference.  For  the  operation  of 
the  pure  argument,  all  that  is  necessary  is  to  ascertain, 
on  good  evidence,  that  there  is  interference  (constraint, 
restraint,  compulsion,  or  evasion)  by  force  or  fraud,  and 
the  dogma  is  in  itself,  taken  alone,  a  good  and  valid  rea- 
son for  the  cessation  of  the  injustice;  for  no  man,  and  no 
majority  of  men,  can  possibly,  under  any  circumstances 
whatever,  have  a  right  to  interfere  by  force  or  fraud 
with  another.  But  though  the  pure  argument  is  morally 
valid,  it  is  seldom  or  never  effectual ;  knowledge  as  well 
as  reason  must  be  brought  to  bear  on  society,  and  the 
practical  consequences  of  injustice  must  be  made  appar- 
ent, before  the  mass  of  men  are  stimulated  to  clamor 
for  change.  Thus  though  the  reduction  of  man  to  slavery, 
next  to  judicial  murder,  be  the  highest  political  crime, 
the  population  of  Britain — perhaps  the  most  religious, 
the  most  humane,  and  the  most  just  population  ever  as- 
sembled together — could  not  be  brought  to  emancipate 
the  negro,  until  the  horrors  of  West  Indian  iniquity  had 
been  portrayed  in  all  their  blackness,  and  until  the  detest- 
able nature  of  the  system  had  been  so  exhibited  that 
men's  feelings  of  humanity  revolted,  and  the  abolition  be- 
came a  matter  of  moral  necessity  to  the  nation.  The 
argument  of  benefit  is  of  another  kind.  The  argument 
of  justice  proceeds  upon  the  principle,  that  certain  ac- 
tions may  not  be  done,  whatever  be  their  consequences. 
Grant  that  slavery  was  beneficial,  in  a  commercial  sense, 
to  Great  Britain ;  that  the  negroes  were  better  fed  and 
better  clothed,  etc.,,  in  their  state  of  slavery  than  in  their 
state  of  freedom  (if  such  a  state  be  entitled  to  that  name) ; 


128        THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION. 

grant  that  all  the  physical  advantages  were  in  favor  of 
slavery  ;  yet  can  slavery  never  be  otherwise  than  contrary 
to  the  law  of  God,  a  system  of  injustice  detestable  to  all 
good  men.  Let  the  consequences  be  what  they  may,  no 
man  can  justly  make  or  keep  another  man  a  slave :  neither 
would  any  consequences  whatever  justify  the  deprivation 
of  that  natural  liberty  with  which  the  Creator  endows  all 
men  alike.  The  argument  of  benefit,  however,  assumes 
that  the  action  itself  is  indifferent;  that  is,  that  it  has 
not  in  itself  any  such  moral  character  as  will  enable  ns 
to  pronounce  at  once,  whether  it  ought  or  ought  not  to 
be  done.  Let  us  grant  that  a  tax  upon  the  importation 
of  corn  were  beneficial  to  Great  Britain,  and  that  all  the 
inhabitants  freely  consented  to  the  imposition  of  the  tax, 
there  is  nothing  in  the  tax  it-self  to  prevent  such  imposi- 
tion (morally),  but  it  must  stand  or  fall  entirely  and  ex- 
clusively according  to  the  consequences  that  are  found  to 
follow  in  its  train. 

The  main  argument  advanced  against  slavery  was, 
that  it  was  unjust;  and  this  argument  was  impressed  on 
the  population  by  a  relation  of  the  many  abominations 
that  accompanied  the  system.  The  main  argument  ad- 
vanced against  the  corn-laws  was,  that  they  were  preju- 
dicial to  the  country.  They  had  been  established  ostensi- 
bly for  the  benefit  of  the  agriculturists ;  and  it  was  proven 
by  a  superabundance  of  facts,  that  they  were  in  nowise 
beneficial  to  the  cultivators  of  the  soil,  while  they  were 
notoriously  prejudicial  to  all  the  rest  of  the  population, 
except  the  thirty  or  forty  thousand  individuals  who  hold 
the  nation's  land.  As  a  measure  of  national  economy 
they  had  wrought  only  mischief ;  they  had  embarrassed 
trade,  impeded  manufacture,  repressed  industry,  and 
made  the  laborer  pay  dear  for  his  food,  while  they  oper- 
ated at  the  same  time  to  diminish  his  employment.  In 
every  respect  they  were  bad;  and  because  the  nation  was 
convinced  they  were  bad,  the  legislators,  who  are  ever 


THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION.        lil'j 

the  last  to  promote  beneficial  changes,  were  ultimately 
obliged  to  abolish  them,  and  to  leave  the  supply  of  the 
national  food  to  that  natural  course  which  is  ever  found 
the  most  beneficial  in  the  end. 

Such  were  two  modern  instances  of  the  combination  of 
knowledge  and  reason, — spirit-stirring  exhibitions  of  the 
energies  of  a  noble  people  warring  for  the  abolition  of  in- 
justice, and  for  the  emancipation  of  legitimate  industry. 
Nor,  however  invidious  may  be  deemed  the  comparison, 
can  we  refrain  from  asking,  What  form  these  agitations 
would  have  assumed  in  any  other  European  country? 
What  country  in  Europe  could  have  presented  the  specta- 
cle of  a  calm  and  resolute  combination  of  a  large  portion 
of  the  inhabitants  against  the  laws  of  the  land?  What 
country  in  Europe  could  have  carried  on  so  much  agita- 
tion without  a  breach  of  the  public  peace,  or  without  riot 
and  confusion  ?  In  France  there  might  have  been  a  revo- 
lution— in  Italy,  a  secret  combination,  bound  with  oaths 
on  death's-heads  and  cross-bones — in  Russia,  an  assassi- 
nation of  the  Autocrat — in  Spain,  an  insurrection  only 
more  wicked  than  contemptible;  but  in  no  country,  ex- 
cept Great  Britain,  could  such  great  changes  in  the  law 
be  procured,  by  the  mass  of  the  population  first  ascer- 
taining what  was  correct,  and  then  patiently  waiting  till 
the  power  of  truth  had  convinced  the  legislators  that  the 
desired  change  was  good,  and  for  the  benefit  of  mankind. 
France,  notwithstanding  all  her  revolutions,  has  yet  to 
learn  the  practical  operation  of  a  moral  power ;  and  until 
she  masters  this  most  essential  element  of  peaceable  pro- 
gression, the  sword  must  be  the  umpire  between  the 
rulers  and  the  ruled. 

Notwithstanding  the  length  of  our  argument  concern- 
ing the  combination  of  knowledge  and  reason,  we.  shall 
not  consider  it  too  lengthened,  if  it  in  anywise  contrib- 
utes to  elucidate  those  means  that  must  be  put  in  opera- 
tion for  advancing  the  political  progress  of  mankind.  It 
9 


130         THE  THEORY  OF  11UMAN  PROGRESSION. 

is  the  greatest  possible  absurdity  to  suppose  that  all  the 
changes  that  take  place  in  the  political  condition  of  socie- 
ties are  only  portions  of  a  routine  which,  when  fulfilled, 
is  to  commence  again,  and  again  to  present  the  same 
phases,  and  the  same  or  analogous  phenomena.  No ; 
the  political  progress  of  mankind  is  a  passage  to  one  de- 
finite end,  to  an  ultimatum,  to  a  condition  that  requires 
no  further  change,  to  a  stable  system  of  law  that  does 
not  demand  perpetual  deliberation,  but  only  perpetual 
administration ;  and  the  great  question  for  the  political 
world  is,  "What  is  that  end?  What  is  that  system? 
What  is  that  ultimatum  ?  "  What,  in  fact,  is  the  politi- 
cal condition  of  society  that  controverts  no  principle  of 
reason,  and  sins  against  no  precept  of  religion  ?  for  this, 
we  may  rest  assured,  is  the  ultimate  end  towards  which 
all  civilized  societies  must  progress. 

No  man  for  a  moment  can  hesitate  to  pronounce,  or  to 
prophesy  with  unlimited  assurance,  that  the  negroes  in 
the  slave  states  of  America  will  ultimately  obtain  their 
freedom,  and  that  the  serfs  of  Russia  will  ultimately  be 
emancipated.  The  future  history  of  Russia  may  be  read 
in  the  present  history  of  France  and  England ;  and  this, 
not  on  account  of  the  propagation  of  French  or  English 
ideas,  but  because  the  substantive  element — man — is  the 
same  in  both  cases,  and  his  progress  in  every  country  in 
the  world  must  be  characterized  by  the  same  abstract 
phenomena,  whatever  may  be  the  concrete  or  real  occur- 
rences under  which  the  abstract  principles  happen  to  be 
developed. 

The  progress  of  the  European  nations  is  a  progress 
from  serfdom  and  lordship  towards  freedom ;  that  is,  a 
progress  from  inequality  towards  equality.  And  although 
some  of  the  newer  states  appear  to  overleap  many  of  the 
intermediate  steps  through  which  the  older  societies  have 
passed,  it  must  not  be  forgotten  that  the  newer  states 
have  merely  borrowed  from  the  older,  and  adopted  such 


THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION.         131 

improvements  as  the  new  foundation  of  a  state  rendered 
possible  under  the  given  circumstances.  Thus  the  North 
Americans  did  not,  by  their  declaration  of  independence, 
advance  themselves  from  a  condition  of  semi-barbarism 
to  a  highly  equitable  system  of  political  rule  ;  but  having 
to  found  a  new  state,  they  adopted  the  best  principles 
which  had  been  gradually,  and  during  the  course  of  many 
centuries,  developing  in  Europe;  at  the  same  time 
making  such  further  progress  towards  equality  as  the 
occasion  of  commencing  a  state  naturally  afforded  oppor- 
tunity for. 

The  real  history  of  political  progress  commences  only 
at  that  period  where  the  maximum  of  disparity  between 
the  various  orders  or  classes  begins  to  be  systematically 
diminished.  From  this  point  (which  is  chronologically 
different  in  the  various  countries)  there  is  a  natural 
course  of  progress,  different  in  the  outward  circumstances 
of  its  manifestation,  but  essentially  the  same  in  its  ab- 
stract characters,  in  every  country  that  achieves  civiliza- 
tion. The  essence  of  this  progress  is  the  gradual  eman- 
cipation of  the  rights  of  the  serf  or  unprivileged  laborer, 
and  the  corresponding  diminution  of  the  privileges  of  the 
lord.  Now  it  may  be  observed,  that  the  great  revolutions 
which  take  place  in  the  earlier  portions  of  this  progress 
are  physical  force  revolutions,  changes  brought  about  by 
the  sword,  because  there  are  no  other  means  sufficiently 
powerful  to  effect  them.  Nor  is  it  difficult  to  see  why 
this  must  be  the  case.  In  the  earlier  stages  of  society 
force  and  privilege  rule,  not  reason  and  equity ;  and  as 
those  who  have  the  privileges  will  not  abandon  them, 
those  who  suffer  the  oppression  must  resort  to  the  only 
influence  whose  authority  is  acknowledged.  Were  the 
privileged  classes  to  admit  reason  as  the  umpire,  there 
would  be  no  necessity  for  force  revolutions ;  but  as  the 
changes  come  to  be  necessary,  they  must  be  achieved  by 
such  means  as  will  effect  them,  however  undesirable  it 


132         THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION. 

may  be  that  such  means  should  be  necessary.  We  can 
have  little  hesitation  in  asserting,  that  the  changes 
brought  about  in  the  political  condition  of  the  people  of 
France  by  the  first  French  Revolution,  were  imperatively 
necessary ;  that  is,  that  the  condition  of  France  was  such 
that  those  changes  must  take  place,  independently  of  the 
mere  will  of  any  individual,  because  such  changes  were 
the  necessary  consequences  of  such  a  condition.  The 
means,  to  a  certain  extent,  might  be  within  the  control  of 
the  actors,  but  the  end — the  change  in  the  political  con- 
dition of  the  people — must  have  followed  from  the  opera- 
tion of  those  general  laws  that  regulate  the  political 
progress  of  mankind.* 

When,  however,  a  nation  has  made  some  political  prog- 
ress, and  its  despotism  has  become  relaxed ;  or,  in  other 
words,  when  some  degree  of  liberty  has  been  attained  by 
the  mass  of  the  population — a  revolution  by  physical 
force  (which  is  always  attended  with  lamentable  evils) 
may  be  obviated,  or  rendered  unnecessary.  Where  liberty 
has  made  a  real  progress,  knowledge  must  have  made  a 
real  progress ;  and  where  knowledge  has  progressed, 
reason  becomes  as  powerful  an  agent  as  force,  and  one 
which  ought  ever  to  be  chosen  if  the  alternative  be  in  our 
choice. 

To  conclude  our  argument  with  regard  to  the  combina- 
tion of  knowledge  and  reason,  we  lay  down  the  following 
propositions : — 

1st.  On  the  sure  word  of  divine  prophecy,  we  anticipate 
a  reign  of  justice  on  the  earth. 

2d.  That  a  reign  of  justice  necessarily  implies  that 
every  man  in  the  world  shall,  at  some  future  time,  be  put 
in  possession  of  all  his  rights.  • 

3d.  That  the  history  of  civilized  communities  shows  us, 
that  the  progression  of  mankind  in  a  political  aspect  is, 
from  a  diversity  of  privileges  towards  an  equality  of  rights. 

*  See  Note  B,  Appendix. 


THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION.         133 

4th.  That  one  man  can  have  a  privilege  only  by  depriv- 
ing another  man,  or  many  other  men,  of  a  portion  of  their 
rights.  Consequently,  that  a  reign  of  justice  will  consist 
in  the  destruction  of  every  privilege,  and  in  the  restitu- 
tion of  every  right. 

5th.  That,  under  the  supreme  direction  of  divine  prov- 
idence, man  is  the  agent  employed  in  working  out  his 
own  political  wellbeing. 

6th.  That  man  cannot  work  out  his  political  wellbeing 
unless  he  knows  wherein  that  wellbeing  consists. 

Knowledge,  therefore,  is  necessary  to  enable  man  to 
work  out  his  political  wellbeing. 

7th.  That  men  must  know  correctly  before  they  can 
act  correctly. 

8th.  That  the  political  wellbeing  of  mankind  involves 
two  things — correct  knowledge  and  correct  action.  Correct 
action  is  knowledge  carried  into  practical  operation. 

9th.  That  the  political  regeneration  of  mankind  is 
dependent  on  the  acquisition  and  promulgation  of  political 
knowledge. 

10th.  That  in  the  laws  which  should  regulate  man's 
political  action,  there  is  a  truth  and  a  falsehood,  as  much 
as  there  is  a  truth  and  a  falsehood  in  matters  of  geometric 
or  astronomic  science. 

llth.  That  the  political  condition  of  men  can  never  be 
what  it  ought  to  be,  until  men  have  acquired  the  requisite 
knowledge  ;  that  is,  until  they  have  perfected  political 
science,  and  reduced  it  to  the  same  form  and  ordination 
us  any  of  the  other  sciences. 

12th.  That,  with  the  perfection  of  political  science, 
there  will  necessarily  follow  an  amended  order  of 
political  action,  and  consequently  an  amended  condition  of 
society. 

13th.  That  political  knowledge  is  divided  into  two 
distinct  branches ;  First,  a  sensational  branch,  which 
furnishes  us  with  the  facts  of  man's  condition,  and  the 


134        THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION. 

actual  results  of  human  action;  Second,  a  rational  branch, 
which  furnishes  us  with  the  principles  that  ought  to 
regulate  human  action. 

The  first  is  political  economy  ;  the  second  is  politics,  or 
the  science  of  equity. 

14th.  That  the  actual  political  condition  of  no  country  in 
the  world  is  the  practical  illustration  of  the  propositions 
of  political  truth.  Consequently,  that  the  actual  political 
condition  of  every  country  in  the  world  requires  to  be 
revised  and  amended. 

15th.  That  improvements  in  the  political  conditions  of 
a  country  are  made  exactly  in  proportion  as  the  truths  of 
political  economy  and  political  science  are  reduced  to 
practice. 

16th.  That  in  every  country  .there  are  privileged  classes 
who  have  more  power  or  more  property  than  they  are 
justly  entitled  to,  and  unprivileged  classes  who  have  less 
power  or  less  property  than  they  are  justly  entitled  to. 
That  the  difference  between  these  two  classes  has  been 
undergoing  a  gradual  but  sure  process  of  diminution. 
This  fact  we  learn  from  history. 

17th.  That  the  further  progress  of  the  diminution  in  the 
difference  between  the  privileged  and  unprivileged  classes, 
may  be  surely  anticipated  as  the  continuation  of  a  process 
that  has  already  been  going  on  for  centuries. 

18th.  That  the  absolute  equality  of  men  in  all  political 
rights  is  the  ultimate  end  of  political  progression.  That 
so  long  as  there  is  not  absolute  equality  of  political  rights, 
there  is  the  constant  element  of  further  change  and  conse- 
quently good  reason  for  anticipating  further  change. 

19th.  That  while  a  single  individual  may  or  may  not 
determine  his  actions  according  to  his  knowledge  (for  man 
is  erring),  the  constitution  of  humanity  in  the  mass  nec- 
essarily determines,  that  wherever  knowledge  is  obtained, 
systematically  ordinated,  and  generally  diffused,  an 
amended  order  of  action  will  invariably  result. 


THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION.         135 

20th.  That  the  theory  of  political  progress  is — 

1.  The  present  condition  is  felt  to  be  grievous,  and  seen 
by  the  intellect  to  be  partial  and  unjust. 

2.  The  present  condition,  when  translated  into  language, 
furnishes  a  proposition  which  will  not  bear  the  investiga- 
tion of  the  reason,  and  which  is  consequently  rejected  as 
superstitious  or  erroneous. 

3.  With  the  condemnation  of  the  proposition,  of  which 
the  present  condition  of  society  (at  any  given  period)  is 
only  a  real  exemplification,  there  necessarily  follows  the 
condemnation  of  that  condition,  and  a  desire  for  change  is 
necessarily  generated. 

4.  But,  in  course  of  time,  a  new  proposition  is  dis- 
covered or  suggested,  and  this  proposition,  if  it  will  stand 
the  investigation  of  the  reason,  is  posited  as  true,  that  is, 
classed  as  a  portion  of  knowledge. 

5.  The  proposition  which  is  true,  is  then  translated  into 
a  practical  rule  of  action,  and  from  this  practical  rule  of 
action  there  would  necessarily  result  a  certain  condition 
of  society  different  from  that  condition  which  had  been 
condemned  as  erroneous. 

6.  The  new  condition  of  society  is  then  posited  as  an 
end  to  be  attained,  as  a  thing  to  be  striven  for,  in  a  free 
country  by  the  power  of  well-grounded  argument  and 
social  combination,  and  under  a  despotism  by  the  power 
of  the  sword  and  the  convulsion  of  revolution. 

7.  But  as  the  old  condition  necessarily   involves  the 
interests  of  some  parties  (placemen,  slave-owners,  land- 
owners, for  instance),  the  transition  from  the  old  condi- 
tion,  which   was   erroneous,   to  the  new  and  amended 
condition,  is  always  the  cause  of  a  social  struggle  between 
the  partisans  of  the  old  condition  and  the  partisans  .of  the 
new. 

8.  This  social  struggle  may  assume  two  forms,  accord- 
ing to  the  nature  of  the  question  in  dispute,  and  according 
to  the  character  of  the  political  institutions  of  the  country 


136         THE  THEORY  OF  1IUMAX  PROGRESSION. 

where  it  takes  place.  (1.)  If  change  be  sought  in  a 
country  where  there  are  no  legal  and  constitutional  means 
whereby  the  masses  of  the  population  may  obtain  that 
change,  the  sword  must  necessarily  be  resorted  to,  and  a 
physical  force  revolution,  so  far  from  being  a  crime,  is 
one  of  the  highest  political  duties  of  man.*  (2.)  If,  on  the 
contrary,  the  change  be  sought  in  a  country  that  has 
attained  to  liberty  of  discussion,  a  free  press,  a  tolerably 
extensive  representation,  etc.  (that  is,  where  deliberative 
judgment  and  not  mere  will  rules),  the  sword  (always  an 
evil,  though  sometimes  necessary)  may  be  superseded  by 
the  moral  force  of  truth.  Knowledge  disseminated  will 
convince  the  masses,  and  when  the  masses  are  convinced 
they  will  combine,  and  when  they  combine,  the  change, 
sooner  or  later,  will  follow  as  a  necessary  consequence. 

9.  We  have  said,  however,  that  the  nature  of  the  ques- 
tion, as  well  as  the  character  of  the  political  institutions, 
may  determine  the  character  of  the  social  struggle.  A 
country  may  be  possessed  of  much  freedom,  and  yet  there 
may  remain  some  questions  which  moral  force  is  incapable 
of  deciding.  The  interests  involved  may  be  of  such  mag- 
nitude, or  the  questions  may  entail  such  radical  changes 
in  the  very  constitution  of  the  state,  that  no  legal  means 
whatever  may  exist  for  bringing  about  the  change. 
When,  therefore,  the  mass  of  the  population  have  re- 
solved that  the  change  shall  take  place,  and  there  exist 

*  We  must  distinctly  reiterate  that  we  speak  only  of  political  duty,  whose 
only  rule  is  the  law  of  justice,  as  developed  in  the  propositions  of  political 
science.  Man's  religious  duty  we  do  not  profess  to  teach.  Politics  has  this 
world,  and  this  world  alone,  for  its  sphere  of  action  ;  and  the  sword  (that  is, 
compulsion)  is  the  instrument  whereby  all  should  be  compelled  to  adhere  to  the 
strictest  rules  of  equal  and  even-handed  justice.  Justice  neither  gives  nor  for- 
gives, bears  nor  forbears.  Religion,  on  the  contrary,  introduces  a  higher  and  a 
divine  principle  of  action,  which  may  enjoin  a  man  to  refrain  from  the  forcible 
assertion  of  his  rights,  and  rather  to  bear  an  ill  than  to  redress  it  by  the  sword. 
Man,  as  man,  is  universally  bound  by  the  laws  of  justice,  and  may  universally 
carry  those  laws  into  operation  ;  but  man,  as  a  Christian,  is  bound  by  the  laws 
of  scripture,  and  must  regulate  his  conduct  by  the  precepts  of  divine  revela- 
tion. 


THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION.         137 

no  legal  means  for  effecting  it,  or  when  those  in  official 
authority  positively  refuse  to  make  the  change,  even  when 
its  necessity  is  apparent  to  the  nation,  the  sword  must  be 
the  umpire  as  between  two  parties  who  have  severed  all 
political  connexion,  and  are  openly  at  war. 

10.  But  even  where  a  temporary  appeal  to  the  sword 
may  be  requisite,  because  there  are  no  other  means  capa- 
ble of  removing  the  barriers  that  stand  in  the  way  of 
political  progress,  the  sword  is  the  mere  instrument  em- 
ployed to  effect  a  change  which  could  not  be  effected 
without  its  aid.  Where  knowledge  has  exhibited  the 
malignant  character  of  the  present  condition,  and  reason 
has  shown  how  that  condition  may  be  amended,  the 
change  must  come  as  a  necessary  consequence  of  man's 
constitution.  It  is  not  in  the  power  of  man  to  prevent 
it ;  for  he  is  as  much  bound  by  the  laws  which  regulate 
his  intellect  and  his  actions,  as  he  is  by  the  laws  which 
regulate  the  condition  of  his  bodily  frame.  Knowledge 
does  necessarily  produce  change,  as  much  as  heat  neces- 
sarily produces  change ;  and  where  knowledge  becomes 
more  and  more  accurate,  more  and  more  extensive,  and 
more  and  more  generally  diffused,  change  must  neces- 
sarily take  place  in  the  same  ratio,  and  entail  with  it  a 
new  order  of  society,  and  an  amended  condition  of  man 
upon  the  globe.  Wherever,  then,  the  unjust  interests  of 
the  ruling  classes  are  required  to  give  way  before  the  pro- 
gress of  knowledge,  and  those  ruling  classes  peremptorily 
refuse  to  allow  the  condition  of  society  to  be  amended,  the 
sword  is  the  instrument  which  knowledge  and  reason  may 
be  compelled  to  use  ;  for  it  is  not  possible,  it  is  not  within 
the  limits  of  man's  choice,  that  the  progress  of  society 
can  be  permanently  arrested  when  the  intellect  of  the 
masses  has  advanced  in  knowledge  beyond  those  pro- 
positions, of  which  the  present  condition  is  only  the 
realization. 

21st.  We  posit,  finally,  that  the  acquisition,  scientific 


138         THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION. 

ordination,  and  general  diffusion  of  knowledge,  will  neces- 
sarily obliterate  error  and  superstition,  and  continually 
amend  the  condition  of  man  upon  the  globe,  until  his 
ultimate  condition  shall  be  the  best  the  circumstances  of 
the  earth  permit  of.  On  this  ground  we  take  up  (what 
might  in  other  and  abler  hands  be  an  argument  of  no 
small  interest,  namely)  the  natural  probability  of  a  mil- 
lennium, based  on  the  classification  of  the  sciences,  on  the 
past  progress  of  mankind,  and  on  the  computed  evolution 
of  man's  future  progress.  The  outline  alone  of  this  ar- 
gument we  shall  indicate ;  and  we  have  no  hesitation  in 
believing,  that  every  one  who  sees  it  in  its  true  light,  will 
at  once  see  how  the  combination  of  knowledge  and  reason 
must  regenerate  the  earth,  and  evolve  a  period  of  universal 
prosperity,  which  the  Divine  Creator  has  graciously  prom- 
ised, and  whose  natural  probability  we  maintain  to  be 
within  the  calculation  of  the  human  reason. 


THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION.        139 


CHAPTER  II. 

ON  THE  THEORY  OF  MAN'S   INTELLECTUAL  PRO- 
GRESSION. 


SECTION   I. — THE    ORDEK   OF    THE    SCIENCES. 

1st.  The  sum  of  all  things  which  man  can  know  is  cir- 
cumscribed in  quality,  although  in  each  quality  there  may 
be  combinations  of  indefinite  extent.  That  is,  there  are 
only  so  many  possible  sciences,  although  each  science,  in 
its  own  department,  may  be  pursued  indefinitely. 

2d.  The  sciences  are  capable  of  being  classed  on  a  sys- 
tem which  is  not  arbitrary. 

3d.  The  discovery  of  the  sciences  as  a  historical  fact,  is 
correlative  with  the  scheme  of  classification.  The  classi- 
fication is  a  mere  process  of  the  intellect,  whereby  the 
sciences  are  arranged  in  a  certain  order,  according  to  a 
principle.  The  discovery  of  the  sciences  is  a  historical 
fact  extending  over  many  centuries.  We  assert  that  the 
order  of  discovery  has  been  correlative  with  the  order  of 
classification. 

4th.  In  the  order  of  discovery,  we  are  at  a  certain  point, 
or  at  a  certain  number  in  the  series,  according  to  the 
scheme  of  classification. 

5th.  There  is,  therefore,  the  strongest  ground  for  believ- 
ing that  the  future  sciences  will  be  discovered  and  reduced 
to  ordination  in  the  same  order  that  they  stand  in  the 
scheme  of  classification. 

6th.  Correlative  with  the  sciences  are  the  arts. 


140         THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION. 

The  sciences  are  knowledge,  the  arts  are  action. 

7th.  With  the  discovery  of  the  sciences,  there  follows 
invariably  a  new  and  amended  order  of  action  ;  that  is, 
the  arts,  or  the  products  of  human  activity,  continually 
improve  with  the  progression  of  the  sciences.  [The  word 
art  we  use  not  in  its  restricted  and  partial  sense,  as  apply- 
ing more  particularly  to  the  fine  arts,  hut  in  its  general 
sense,  as  signifying  the  systematic  products  of  human  ac- 
tivity. The  fine  arts  are,  to  a  great  extent,  the  gift  of 
the  individual,  and  consequently  are  so  far  independent 
of  science.] 

8th.  The  sciences  are  classed  on  their  complexity.  To 
determine  the  position  of  a  science  in  the  scheme  of  clas- 
sification, we  have  only  to  ask  how  many  substantive  con- 
cepts does  it  necessarily  involve;  that  is,  with  how  many 
nouns-substantive  can  it  be  made  and  expressed. 

9th.  The  order  of  the  sciences  is  as  follows — 

1.  The  mathematical  sciences. 

2.  The  force  sciences, 

3.  The  inorganic  physical  sciences. 

4.  The  sciences  that  treat  of  vegetable  organization. 

5.  The  sciences  that  treat  of  animal  organization. 

6.  The  sciences  that  treat  of  man  and  his  functions. 
Let  it  be  remembered  that  science  is  not  a  reality,  but 

only  a  form  of  thought.  Science  exists  in  the  mind,  and 
in  the  mind  alone;  it  is  the  mind's  mode  of  viewing 
reality. 

The  realities  are  matter  and  mind. 

Let  any  portion  of  matter  be  subjected  to  our  investi- 
gation, and  the  mind,  from  the  necessary  laws  of  its  con- 
stitution, abstracts  the  qualities  of  that  portion  of  matter, 
the  one  from  the  other,  and  then  investigates  the  laws  of 
those  .abstractions. 

The  laws  of  those  abstractions  constitute  the  mathe- 
matical sciences. 

These  abstractions  form  the  much-decried  (and  much 


THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION.         141 

less  understood)  categories,  under  which  all   scientific 
knowledge  must  range  itself. 
These  categories  are  for  the  mathematical  sciences — 

1.  Identity.    What  is  A? 

2.  Equality.     What  is  A  part  of? 

3.  Number.     How  many  parts  ? 

4.  Quantity.     How  much  is  each  part  ? 

5.  Space  (position,  extent,  direction). 

6.  Force  (classed  specially  hereafter). 

And  each  of  these  primary  and  undefinable  abstrac- 
tions, or  substantive  concepts,  furnishes  us  with  a  distinct 
science. 

The  rational  process  of  thought  in  every  science  is  sub- 
jective, and  does  not  require  to  be  taken  into  considera- 
tion. The  abstract  sciences  arise  from  the  application  of 
the  rational  process  of  thought  (subjective)  to  the  above 
concepts,  which  are  the  objects  of  the  sciences.* 

Every  object  in  every  department  of  human  thought 
may  and  must  be  considered  under  three  aspects. 

1st,  Existence.     2d,  Relation.     3d,  Function. 

All  that  man  can  know  of  any  thing  whatever  comes 
under  one  of  these  heads. 

1st,   The  thing ;  2d,  its   condition ;  3d,   its   function ; 

*  Anterior  to  all  reasoning  whatever,  there  is  the  ontological  necessity,  or 
necessary  form  of  thought,  which  precedes  all  science.  The  most  universal 
form  of  science  is  logic,  or  syllogistic,  in  which  we  have  the  blank  form  into 
which  the  mathematical  sciences  place  numbers,  quantities,  and  spaces.  Logic 
is  the  first  form  of  reasoning ;  which  reasoning  in  the  mathematical  sciences  is 
called  calculating.  But,  anterior  to  reasoning,  there  is  the  mode  of  the  sub- 
stantive terms,  and  the  mode  of  the  propositions  which  are  to  enter  into  reason- 
ing ;  and  these  modes  are  determined  by  ontology  or  metaphysic,  which  fur- 
nishes the  axioms  or  self-evident  truths.  These  axioms  are  taken  as  subjec- 
tively true  in  the  sciences,  but  ontology  considers  them  first  as  objective.  Thus 
ontology  pronounces  nothing  whatever  on  the  reality  of  being,  but  on  the  mode 
of  being  in  thought.  Ontology,  then,  divdes  substantive  thought  into  substance, 
attribute,  cause,  effect,  necessary  existence,  contingent  existence,  power,  func- 
tion, etc. ;  and  when  the  mode  of  these  has  been  determined,  these  substantives 
;irc  transformed  from  objective  consideration  into  subjective  use.  Science 
exist  s  in  the  mind,  and  thus  when  forces  for  instance  function  in  the  mind,  they 
function  through  the  laws  of  ontological  classification  :  without  ontology  there 
could  be  no  science  whatever. 


142         THE  THEORY  OF  HUNAN  PROGRESSION. 

and  to  these  three  answer  the  three  processes  of  the 
mind. 

1st,  Apprehension.    2d,  Classification.     3d,  Reasoning. 

When,  therefore,  the  categorical  concepts  are  appre- 
hended by  abstraction,  the  second  process  is  the  classifica- 
tion of  the  forms  of  the  concept,  and  the  third  process  is 
reasoning.  In  every  science,  therefore,  we  have  classi- 
fication and  reasoning ;  and  we  have  only  to  ask  what  do 
we  classify,  and  with  what  do  we  reason,  to  determine 
the  name  and  the  nature  of  the  sc'ence.  The  most  ulti- 
mate abstraction  which  the  human  intellect  can  form,  is 
the  noun-substantive  in  its  generic  character  without 
attribute.  It  therefore  is  the  primary  and  fundamental 
element  of  science,  which,  by  the  addition  of  attributes  or 
predicates,  shall  become  the  substantive  element  of  any 
science  whatever.  We  assert,  then,  that  the  first  possible 
predicate  that  we  can  attach  to  the  noun-substantive  in 
its  generic  character,  is  Identity  ;  the  second,  Equality ; 
the  third,  Number  ;  and  so  on. 

Correlative  with  the  course  of  nature  and  of  thought 
(or  knowledge),  is  the  course  of  language ;  and  here  we 
have  the  same  exhaustive  triplicity,  beyond  which  it  is 
impossible  for  us  to  go. 

Apprehension  furnishes  us  with  the  name,  classification 
with  the  proposition,  and  reasoning  with  the  syllogism. 
The  name,  the  proposition,  and  the  syllogism,  include 
every  thing  that  can  be  expressed  as  science. 

We  have,  then, 

The  course  of  nature. 

1st,  The  thing.    2d,  Its  condition.     3d,  Its  function. 

The  course  of  knowledge. 

1st,  The  concept.    2d,  Its  classification.     3d,  Reasoning. 

The  course  of  language. 

1st,  The  name.  2d,  The  proposition.   3d,  The  syllogism. 

The  concept  is  the  thing  (ens)  apprehended  by  the 
intellect. 


THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION.         143 

The  name  is  the  expression,  in  language,  of  the  concept, 
and  consequently  of  the  thing. 

Classification  is  the  apprehension  of  the  condition  of  the 
thing,  in  which  are  included  all  its  quiescent  relations ; 
and  the  proposition  is  the  expression,  in  language,  of 
that  classification. 

Reasoning  is  subsequent  to  prepositional  knowledge, 
and  is  the  process  whereby  a  new  proposition  is  made  to 
evolve  from  two  anterior  propositions. 

The  syllogism  is  the  complete  expression,  in  language, 
of  reasoning ;  and  both  are  correlative  with  all  the  active 
functions  of  real  nature. 

Were  man  incapable  of  reasoning,  he  might  apprehend 
all  the  realities  of  nature,  and  classify  all  on  the  most 
perfect  system  of  ordination ;  but  never,  by  any  possi- 
bility, could  he  explain  and  calculate  the  functions  of 
realities.  Every  function  is  active,  and  every  action  in- 
volves an  agent  (or  cause) ;  and  were  man  not  endowed 
with  the  intuitive  principle  of  causation,  all  motions, 
combinations,  functions,  in  a  word,  all  changes,  would 
immediately  become  inexplicable,  and  the  universe  would 
forever  remain  a  vast  enigma. 

The  actual  constitution  of  the  human  intellect  is  as 
absolutely  necessary  to  all  science,  as  is  the  existence 
of  the  realities  of  which  the  sciences  respectively  treat. 

Such,  then,  are  the  general  characteristics  of  all  the 
sciences,  that  is,  of  all  the  true  sciences  that  involve  func- 
tions and  reasoning;  for  the  so-called  sciences  that  do 
not  involve  functions  and  reasoning  (descriptive  botany, 
zoology,  etc.)  are  mere  classification,  and  not  sciences. 
The  general  form  of  scientific  knowledge,  then,  is  A,— 
the  name,  the  concept,  the  thing. 

A  is  B, — the  proposition,  the  classification,  condition, 
or  relation  of  A. 

B  is  C, — the  classification,  condition,  or  relation  of  B. 

Ergo,  A  is  C, — the  consequent  of  the  two  anterior  pro- 


144         TlIK  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION. 

positions.     The  whole  forms  the  syllogism  or  reasoning, 
which  is  the  expression  of  the  function  of  realities. 

Let  us  now  turn  to  the  formation  and  growth  of  the 
abstract  sciences. 

Let  A,  B,  and  C  be  called  terms ;  and  as  nomenclature 
is  at  first  purely  arbitrary,  these  terms  may  be  made  to 
stand  for  any  thing  we  please. 

The  first,  most  simple,  and  most  elementary  form  of 
reasoning,  is  reasoning  in  identity,  or  with  terms  of  which 
identity  (or  its  opposite,  non-identity)  is  predicated. 

A  is  B ;  B  is  C  ;  ergo,  A  is  C. 

A  is  B ;  B  is  not  C  ;  ergo,  A  is  not  C ; 
where  the  terms  are  singular,  is  the  very  simplest   form 
of  all  reasoning,  and  consequently  the  most  general  and 
least  specific  form  of  all  science  whatever. 

The  second  form  of  reasoning,  is  reasoning  in  equality, 
or  with  terms  declared  to  be  equal  (or  its  opposite,  un- 
equal) to  each  other. 

When  we  reasoned  in  identity,  the  terms  were  incap- 
able of  division;  but  when  we  reason  in  equality,  the 
most  general  form  of  division  is  introduced,  and  our  terms 
are  now  divided  into  whole  or  parts.  We  have  therefore 
become  more  specific,  and  can  say,  the  whole  of  A,  part  of 
A ;  the  whole  B,  part  of  B  ;  e.  g., 

The  whole  of  A  is  equal  to  part  of  B. 

The  whole  of  B  is  equal  to  part  of  C  ;  ergo,  the  whole 
of  A  is  equal  to  part  of  C. 

The  third  form  of  reasoning  is  reasoning  in  number, 
or  reasoning  with  terms,  which  are  not  merely  divided 
generally  into  whole  or  parts,  but  into  parts  that  have 
been  specifically  numbered.  A  is  now  divided,  not 
merely  into  whole  or  parts,  but  into  1,  2,  3,  4,  5,  6,  etc., 
parts. 

Reasoning  in  identity  and  in  equality  is  what  is  termed 
logic,  although  in  logic  there  are  two  sciences ;  the  one 
the  science  of  identity,  the  other  the  science  of  equality. 


THE  THEOBY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION.         14f> 

The  science  of  number  is  called  arithmetic,  and  is  nothing 
more  than  logic  with  the  terms  divided  into  numbers. 

The  fourth  form  of  reasoning  is  reasoning  in  quantity, 
or  reasoning  with  terms  which  are  not  only  numbered, 
but  which  have  a  quantity  attached  to  each  of  their  parts. 
In  arithmetic,  all  the  units  are  supposed  to  be  absolutely 
equal  to  each  other  ;  in  algebra,  on  the  contrary,  the 
units  are  capable  of  various  magnitudes.* 

Our  terms  are  now  divided  into  numbered  parts,  which 
have  quantity  attached  to  them ;  let  us  now  add  a  new 
predicate  to  the  quantities,  and  a  new  science  arises. 

The  fifth  form  of  reasoning  is  reasoning  in  space — 
geometry.  What  were  before  only  quantities,  have  now 
become  quantities  of  space ;  and  the  laws  of  position, 
direction,  and  extent,  constitute  the  fifth  science. 

The  sixth  form  of  reasoning  is  reasoning  in  force ;  and 
our  terms,  becoming  more  and  more  specific  with  the 
addition  of  each  new  concept,  have  now  become  forces. 

Such  is  the  necessary  order  of  the  mathematical 
sciences. 

1st.  Logic ;  which  really  includes  two  sciences. 

3d.  Arithmetic ;  that  is,  logic  applied  to  units  or 
number. 

4th.  Algebra;  that  is,  arithmetic  applied  to  quantities. 

5th.  Geometry ;  that  is,  algebra  applied  to  space. 

6th.  Statics ;  that  is,  geometry  applied  to  force. 

In  this  order,  the  mathematical  sciences  must  neces- 
sarily be  classed,  and  in  this  order  the  mathematical 
sciences  must  necessarily  be  discovered.  Ten  thousand 
men  originating  the  mathematical  sciences  by  a  process 

*  Quantity  and  number  are  frequently  confounded  with  each  other,  and  al- 
gebra has  been  termed  universal  arithmetic.  They  are  essentially  distinct,  in- 
asmuch as  arithmetic  starts  from  the  unit,  which  is  indivisible,  and  the  number 
continually  increases  with  the  repetition  of  the  unit.  Quantity,  on  the  con- 
trary, starts  from  infinity,  which  is  divisible  ad  infinitum,  the  quantity  dimin- 
ishing continually  as  we  increase  the  number  of  the  parts.  Number  and 
quantity  are  in  the  inverse  ratio  of  each  other. 
XO 


146         THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSIO\. 

of  independent  investigation,  would  necessarily  discover 
them  in  this  order ;  and  were  ten  thousand  worlds  peopled 
with  human  beings  to  go  through  the  process  of  making 
anew  the  mathematical  sciences,  every  one  of  those 
human  races  would  pass  through  the  same  intellectual 
course,  and  evolve  the  abstract  sciences  exactly  in  the 
same  necessary  order.  The  constitution  of  hum  an  reason 
forbids  that  it  should  be  otherwise  ;  one  science  being 
impossible  until  its  antecedent  is  so  well  known  as  to  be 
capable  of  subjective  operation.  Thus,'  unless  the  laws 
of  identity  are  known,  there  can  be  no  investigation  of 
the  laws  of  equality  ;  and  until  the  laws  of  equality  are 
known,  there  can  be  no  investigation  of  the  laws  of 
number ;  and  until  arithmetic  is  known,  there  can  be  no 
investigation  of  the  laws  of  quantity ;  and  until  the  laws 
of  quantity  are  known,  there  can  be  no  investigation  into 
the  relations  of  spaces;  and  until  geometry  is  known, 
there  can  be  no  statics. 

But  the  mathematical  sciences  are  abstract,  d,  priori, 
and  deductive ;  their  principles  are  not  principles  of  ob- 
served truth,  but  of  rational  necessity ;  they  emanate,  in 
their  scientific  character,  not  from  the  operations  of  nature, 
but  from  the  operations  of  mind ;  sense,  at  the  utmost,  fur- 
nishes only  the  subject-matter  from  which  the  intellect  de- 
rives the  element,  the  one  noun-substantive,  of  the  science ; 
while  all  the  propositions,  and  all  the  reasonings,  and  all 
the  far-off  conclusions,  are  furnished  by  man's  rational 
mind,  as  exclusively  as  if  matter  had  no  existence.  And 
these  mathematical  sciences  form  the  abstract  preparation 
of  man  for  the  acquisition  of  real  or  physical  knowledge. 
Without  the  mathematical  sciences  there  can  be  no  physical 
science — there  may  be  classifications,  facts,  propositions 
innumerable ;  but  science,  which  involves  the  syllogism, 
there  never  can  be  till  the  abstract  sciences  are  so  far 
advanced  as  to  be  capable  of  subjective  application  to  the 
real  facts  of  nature. 


THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION.         147 

Let  us  now  make  an  observation  on  the  method  by 
which  one  science  grows  out  of  another,  by  the  introduc- 
tion of  only  one  single  new  concept  or  substantive  idea. 

For  want  of  better  names  (at  present),  we  shall  call  the 
sciences  of  identity  and  equality,  simple  and  compound 
logic. 

In  simple  logic  the  rational  process  of  the  intellect  is 
subjective,  and  the  terms  (of  which  nothing  is  predicated 
except  identity  ;  for  instance  A  is  B,  B  is  C)  are  objective. 

In  compound  logic  the  terms  have  a  new  predicate ; 
they  are  no  longer  identicals,  but  equivalents,  and  simple 
logic  is  now  subjective  (that  is,  in  operation),  while  the 
equivalents  are  objective,  that  is,  operated  upon. 

Logic  being  the  first,  most  general,  and  most  abstract 
of  all  the  sciences,  is  universally  applicable ;  it  may  be 
applied  to  every  subject  of  human  thought. 

Logic  is  the  universal  form  of  all  science ;  it  is  the  gen- 
eral formula  or  expression  of  science.  The  mathematical 
sciences  are  only  logic,  with  numbers,  quantities,  spaces, 
or  forces  for  the  terms ;  and  the  physical  sciences  are  only 
logic,  with  physical  realities  for  the  terms.  The  form  re- 
mains universally  the  same  ;  and  the  progression  of  the 
sciences,  or  the  advance  from  one  science  to  another,  con- 
sists in  adding  predicate  after  predicate  to  the  terms,  and 
thereby  rendering  them  continually  more  complex.  The 
form  remains  exactly  the  same ;  but  in  the  mathematical 
sciences  we  commence  with  the  major  and  minor  proposi- 
tions, and  thence  deduce  the  consequent.  In  the  physical 
sciences  we  first  commence  with  the  consequent  and 
minor  proposition,  and  thence  infer  the  major.  When 
the  major  is  inferred,  we  can  then  reason  deductively,  as 
in  the  mathematical  sciences. 

Let  us  therefore  apply  logic  to  numbers ;  that  is,  in- 
stead of  our  terms  being  merely  equivalents,  let  us  make 
them  numbers,  and  every  proposition  that  was  true  in 
logic  is  now  true  with  regard  to  numbers ;  that  is,  we 


148         THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION. 

create  arithmetic,  which  is  nothing  more  than  logic  applied 
to  numbers,  and  in  which  logic  is  subjective,  and  number 
objective.  Having  made  arithmetic,  let  us  apply  it  to 
quantities,  and  we  have  algebra  where  arithmetic  is  sub- 
jective, and  quantities  are  objective  ;  arithmetic  being  the 
process  of  operation,  and  quantities  being  the  substantives 
operated  upon.  Let  us  now  apply  algebra  to  space,  that 
is,  to  positions,  directions,  extents,  and  geometry  is  ori- 
ginated. In  geometry  algebra  is  subjective,  and  the  forms 
of  space  are  objective. 

Let  us  now  apply  geometry  to  force,  and  statics  is 
originated  where  geometry  is  subjective,  and  forces  are 
objective. 

In  the  above  sciences  not  one  single  idea  has  been  in- 
troduced that  requires  sensual  observation,  and  all  the 
operations  have  been  operations  of  the  mind. 

Let  us  now  apply  the  above  sciences  to  the  substantives 
and  operations  of  real  nature,  and  the  physical  sciences 
arise  one  after  another  in  a  similar  order  of  complexity. 

In  statics  the  whole  question  was,  Whether  the  forces 
did  or  did  not  neutralize  each  other  at  a  given  point  ?  but 
nothing  was  said  as  to  the  consequences  if  they  did  not 
neutralize  each  other. 

Let  a  new  substantive-concept  be  introduced,  and  let 
the  consequence  of  force,  which  has  not  been  neutralized, 
be  motion. 

Let  us  remember,  that  in  every  department  of  knowl- 
edge we  have  to  consider,  1st,  The  thing.  2d,  Its  condi- 
tion and  relations.  3d,  Its  function. 

The  six  sciences  of  which  we  have  spoken,  treat  only  of 
quiescent  conditions  and  relations ;  and  when  applied  to 
the  realities  of  nature,  they  apply  only  to  the  quiescent 
conditions  and  relations  of  those  realities.  But  the  reali- 
ties of  nature  have  functions,  and  those  functions  form  the 
groundwork  of  the  physical  sciences. 

In  the  transition  from  the  abstract  sciences  to  the 


THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION.        149 

physical  sciences,  it  is  usually  supposed  that  we  overstep 
a  broad  line  of  demarcation,  about  which  there  can  be  no 
possible  mistake.  It  is  usually  advanced,  that  in  the  one 
class  of  sciences  we  have  nothing  but  abstractions  and 
their  necessary  relations ;  while  in  the  other  class  we  have 
tangible  or  visible  realities — good  solid  matter. 

Such  a  mode  of  viewing  the  sciences  is  as  clumsy  as  it 
is  empirical,  and  calculated  only  to  satisfy  those  who  (how- 
ever deeply  versed  in  the  specialities  of  any  one  particu- 
lar science)  have  never  turned  their  attention  to  the  rela- 
tions of  the  sciences  among  themselves. 

The  transition  from  the  abstract  sciences  to  the  phy- 
sical sciences  is  not  the  abrupt  leap  so  commonly  sup- 
posed ;  it  is  a  gradual  transition,  that  is,  a  transition  step 
by  step,  in  which  the  step  that  lands  us  on  the  real  uni- 
verse is  neither  greater  nor  less  than  any  of  the  previous 
steps  that  had  conducted  us  from  one  science  to  another ; 
or  if  indeed  it  can  be  called  greater,  it  is  only  greater  in  a 
gradual  ratio  of  increase,  which  might  be  already  observed 
to  pervade  the  abstract  sciences.  The  difference  between 
the  sciences  may  be  viewed  as  gradually  increasing ;  but 
we  maintain  that,  if  this  view  be  taken,  the  increase  of  the 
difference  is  in  a  progressive  ratio,  and  that  there  is  no 
such  thing  as  stepping  out  of  one  region  (the  region  of  the 
mathematical  sciences)  into  another  region  (the  region  of 
the  physical  sciences),  by  a  passage  that  brings  us  into  a 
sphere  altogether  dissimilar.  So  long  as  mere  classifica- 
tions are  called  sciences,  there  can  be  no  just  views  of 
science,  and  consequently  no  just  views  of  the  relations  of 
the  sciences  to  each  other.  Classification,  wherever  it 
may  be  found,  and  to  whatever  it  may  refer,  is  only  one 
of  the  preliminaries  of  science  ;  and  it  is  only  when  we 
can  reason,  that  is,  deduce  a  new  proposition  from  prop- 
ositions already  ascertained,  that  science  has  properly 
commenced. 

Let  us  then  inquire  what  is  the  step  by  which  we  pass 


150         THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION. 

from  the  mathematical  sciences  to  the  physical  sciences. 
Our  terms  from  equivalents  become  numbers,  and  from 
numbers  become  quantities,  and  from  quantities  become 
spaces,  and  from  spaces  become  forces.  Force  involves 
space,  quantity,  number,  equality,  and  identity ;  but  it 
does  not  involve  matter.  As  a  real  fact,  we  may  have  no 
force  without  matter;  but  in  logical  analysis  force  may 
be  considered,  and  may  be  reasoned  with  quite  independ- 
ently of  matter.  In  statics,  then,  our  terms  were  forces, 
and  the  question  was,  Do  the  forces  neutralize  each  other, 
or  do  they  not  ? 

Now,  every  portion  of  matter  must  be  considered,  like 
every  thing  else,  under  the  three  phases.  1st,  Existence  ; 
2d,  Condition  and  relation;  3d,  Function.  And  the 
physical  sciences,  properly  so  called,  treat  of  the  functions 
of  matter. 

What,  then,  is  the  simplest  and  most  universal  func- 
tion of  matter  ?  for  this  is  the  criterion  by  which  we  rec- 
ognize the  first  physical  science. 

The  simplest  and  most  universal  function  of  matter 
is  motion ;  the  science  of  motion,  therefore,  is  the  first, 
the  simplest,  and  the  least  specific  of  all  the  physical 
sciences. 

Let  us  now  examine  the  step  that  leads  from  force  to 
motion. 

It  is  evident  that  all  the  physical  sciences  must  be 
based  on  the  observation  of  the  existence,  condition,  and 
function  of  the  real  matter  with  which  man  is  acquainted ; 
and  that  every  real  motion  must  be  the  motion  of  some 
one  particular  portion  of  matter.  But  every  portion  of 
matter  has  a  certain  number  of  accidents  attached  to  it ; 
that  is,  has  a  number  of  predicates,  which  are  quite  su- 
perfluous in  treating  of  motion,  and  which  consequently 
must  be  abstracted.  Color,  density,  chemical  compo- 
sition, etc.,  etc.,  must  all  be  reserved  for  future  considera- 
tion, until  the  most  general  laws  of  motion  are  discovered. 


THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION.         151 

In  statics  our  terms  were  forces,  and  the  question  was, 
Did  or  did  not  the  forces  neutralize  each  other  ? 

Let  us  consider  the  simplest  form  of  motion  ;  and  as  a 
physical  body  would  involve  a  number  of  predicates,  let 
us  take  only  the  essential  one,  namely,  the  one  that  is 
absolutely  necessary  to  the  formation  of  a  new  science. 
In  statics  we  had  no  motion ;  and  as  every  motion  requires 
a  something  that  shall  move,  let  that  something  be  (not  a 
planet  nor  a  portion  of  real  matter,  both  of  which  are  as 
yet  much  too  complex)  but  a  point,  with  no  other  phys- 
ical predicate  than  that  it  is  moveable. 

Our  term  has  now  become  a  moveable  point,  and  the 
forces  which  in  the  previous  science  were  objective,  now 
become  subjective ;  that  is,  the  laws  of  force,  which  were 
to  be  discovered  in  the  previous  science,  are  now  to  be 
called  into  actual  operation  for  the  purpose  of  evolving  a 
new  science,  which  in  its  turn  will  again  be  called  into 
subjective  operation  for  the  purpose  of  evolving  another 
new  science,  and  so  on  till  the  whole  series  of  the  real 
sciences  is  completed. 

With  forces  acting  on  a  moveable  point,  all  that  we 
can  treat  of  is  the  direction  and  extent  of  the  motion,  with 
the  position  of  departure,  the  positions  of  transit,  and 
the  position  of  arrival ;  that  is,  the  three  substantives  of 
geometry,  position,  direction,  and  extent,  exhaust  all  that 
can  be  discovered  until  a  new  concept  is  introduced. 

Hitherto  the  concept  time  has  not  been  taken  into  con- 
sideration. As  space  is  the  necessary  condition  of  the 
existence  of  matter,  so  is  time  the  necessary  condition  of 
the  functions  of  matter.  Space  is  the  necessary  condi- 
tion of  statical  science ;  time  is  the  necessary  condition  of 
dynamical  science. 

Let  us,  therefore,  add  time  to  the  motions  whose  di- 
rections and  extent  had  been  previously  treated  of,  and  we 
immediately  add  the  laws  of  velocity  ;  that  is,  the  relation 
between  time  and  space. 


152         THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION. 

The  science  of  motion  (dynamics)  brings  us  to  the  verge 
of  the  physical  sciences. 

We  have  said  that  the  functions  of  realities  constitute 
the  bases  of  the  physical  sciences.  Let  us  then  ask, 
What  is  involved  in  a  function  ? 

We  hold  the  principle  to  be  absolutely  universal,  that, 
"  Wherever  man  observes  a  change,  there  he  infers  a 
cause."  A  function,  then,  is  necessarily  composed  of 
three  items.  1st,  A  cause ;  2d,  An  object ;  3d,  An  oper- 
ation or  phenomenon.  The  cause  is  the  agent,  the  object 
is  the  thing  operated  upon,  and  the  phenomenon  is  the 
change  in  the  condition  or  relation  of  the  object. 

But  we  have  stated  that  reasoning  is  correlative  with 
function,  and  reasoning  is  expressed  in  language  by  the 
syllogism.  In  the  syllogism,  therefore,  we  must  find  a 
correlative  triplicity  answering  to  the  component  items  of 
the  function. 

The  function  gives  us  the  cause,  the  object,  and  the 
phenomenon;  and,  answering  to  these,  the  syllogism  gives 
us, 

1st,  The  major  premiss ;  2d,  The  minor  premiss ;  and, 
3d,  The  conclusion,  or  consequent. 

In  the  mathematical  sciences  we  have,  given  the  major 
and  minor  premises  to  find  the  conclusion ;  in  the  phys- 
ical sciences  (while  they  are  in  process  of  discovery)  we 
have,  given  the  minor  premiss  and  conclusion  to  find  the 
major  premiss.  But  when  a  physical  science  is  dis- 
covered, that  is,  when  its  facts  have  been  generalized  in 
such  a  mode  as  to  cast  aside  dispute,  we  are  then  enabled 
to  reason  deductively,  in  the  same  manner  as  in  the 
mathematical  sciences ;  and  so  long  as  a  science  is  in- 
capable of  this  deductive  reasoning,  it  is  only  undergoing 
the  process  of  discovery. 

In  the  physical  sciences  all  that  we  can  observe  is,  1st, 
The  condition  of  the  object ;  and,  2d,  The  phenomenon. 


THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION.         153 

The  cause  is  for  ever  hidden  from  sensual  observation, 
and  is  only  apprehended  by  the  reason. 

The  condition  of  the  object,  when  expressed  in  lan- 
guage, furnishes  us  with  a  proposition ;  and  the  phenom- 
enon, when  expressed  in  language,  furnishes  us  with 
another  proposition  relating  to  the  same  object. 

Now,  let  any  two  propositions  of  a  complete  syllogism 
be  given,  the  third  can  be  inferred ;  and  in  the  physical 
sciences  observation  gives  us  the  condition  of  the  object 
(namely,  the  minor  premiss)  and  the  phenomenon  (namely, 
the  conclusion)  to  find  the  major  premiss.  But,  although 
the  cause  in  a  function  is  hidden  from  our  senses,  it  is 
absolutely  required  by  our  reason ;  and  every  observed 
phenomenon  *  is  considered  by  the  human  mind  as  the 
effect  of  some  unseen  agent  or  cause.  | 

We  have  already  stated  that  science  is  only  a  form  of 
thought;  the  physical  sciences  may  be  termed,  nature 
seen  by  the  reason,  and  not  merely  by  the  senses. 

We  must  consider,  then,  how  the  facts  of  sensational 
observation  are  transformed  into  the  propositions  of 
rational  science.  For  this  purpose,  let  us  consider  what 
is  furnished  by  observation  and  what  by  reason. 

Observation  gives  us,  1st,  The  condition  of  the  object ; 
and,  2d,  The  phenomenon.  And  reason,  under  all  cir- 
cumstances, views  a  function  as  composed  of,  1st,  The 
cause  ;  2d,  The  occasion  ;  3d,  The  effect.  The  condition 
of  the  object  given  by  observation,  is  what  the  reason 
terms  the  occasion  ;  and  the  phenomenon  given  by  obser- 
vation, is  what  the  reason  terms  the  effect;  and  these  in 
the  syllogism  are  represented  by  the  minor  premiss  and 
the  conclusion.  Consequently  the  problem  of  the  physical 
sciences  is,  to  infer  such  a  major  premiss  as  would  make 

*  We  apply  the  term  phenomenon  exclusively  to  the  action  or  operation,  not 
to  the  object. 

t  We  are  aware  that  the  sensationalists  deny  this ;  but  until  they  have 
abolished  force,  the  cause  of  motion,  and  demolished  dynamics,  they  can  ad- 
vance nothing  on  this  subject  worthy  of  attention. 


154        THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION. 

the  observed  phenomenon  (when  stated  in  language)  follow 
syllogistically  from  that  major,  and  from  the  observed 
condition  of  the  object,  when  stated  in  language. 

To  express  this  technically,  let  A  be  the  object,  and  A 
is  B,  its  condition ;  and  let  A  is  C  be  the  expression,  in 
language,  of  the  phenomenon. 

Observation  then  gives  us, 

A  is  B,  and  A  is  C. 

But  (A  is  C),  being  the  phenomenon,  is  regarded  by  the 
reason  as  an  effect,  and  is  consequently  the  conclusion  of 
a  syllogism,  one  of  whose  premises  is  wanting.  The 
problem  then  is,  to  supply  the  wanting  proposition  of  the 
syllogism  ;  that  is,  such  a  proposition  as  shall  make  the 
conclusion  follow  from  the  two  premises,  according  to 
the  laws  of  logic.  The  required  proposition  is,  B  is  C. 
[B  being  of  course  distributed  when  we  reason  with 
whole  and  parts.] 

Such  is  the  general  problem  of  the  physical  sciences 
expressed  in  the  most  abstract  form  ;  but  when  we  turn 
to  realities,  our  terms  A,  B,  C,  must  be  written  out ;  that 
is,  instead  of  abstract  terms,  they  must  be  descriptions 
of  the  physical  realities  and  phenomena,  and,  instead  of 
presenting  themselves  under  the  form  of  alphabetic 
letters,  as  they  do  in  logic,  they  present  themselves  under 
the  form  of  propositions  (perhaps  very  numerous  and 
very  extensive),  containing  a  mass  of  real  observation. 
Every  single  term  may  be  a  proposition,  or  a  series  of 
propositions,  or  even  a  syllogism  ;  but  the  final  result  in 
every  case  is,  that  the  whole  are  at  last  assembled  into 
one  syllogism — however  extensive — and  however  com- 
plex may  be  the  character  of  the  premises. 

Those  who  are  familiar  with  logic  (and  every  one  ought 
to  be  so),  will  at  once  observe  that  B  is  the  middle  term 
of  the  syllogism ;  and  consequently  the  problem  of  the 
physical  sciences  is  to  discover  the  nature  of  that  middle 
term  that  will  connect  the  condition  of  matter,  or  the 


THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION.         155 

circumstances  of  matter,  with  the  phenomena  manifested 
in  those  circumstances. 

Now,  it  will  be  observed,  that  in  nature  we  find  no 
proportions,  ratios,  squares,  roots,  forces,  etc.,  etc. ;  these 
are  all  mental  abstractions,  yet  these  are  the  great  middle 
terms  of  the  physical  sciences  that  enable  men  to  reason 
of  the  effects  of  new  combinations.  No  man,  for  in- 
stance, ever  observes  "  the  inverse  ratio  of  the  square  of 
the  distance" — all  that  he  can  possibly  observe  is  act- 
ual distance,  so  many  inches,  feet,  miles;  but  the  ratio 
he  discovers  by  his  reason,  generalizing  from  particu- 
lar facts  to  the  general  expression  of  those  facts.  And 
when  he  has  discovered  such  a  ratio  as  shall  coincide 
with  all  his  observed  measurements,  he  is  then  enabled 
to  reason  deductively,  having  found  the  middle  term 
of  his  syllogism.  This  middle  term  may  be  a  generalized 
fact  or  general  proposition,  or  it  may  be  a  force  or  cause  ; 
and  the  difference  between  these  is,  that  the  general  fact 
or  proposition  produces  the  logical  consequent,  and  the 
force  is  conceived  as  external  to  the  mind,  existing  in 
real  nature,  and  producing  the  real  consequent,  or  effect, 
or  phenomenon.  In  the  physical  sciences,  therefore,  two 
distinct  classes  of  problems  present  themselves, — the 
problems  of  inference,  and  the  problems  of  deduction, 
expressed  logically  as, 

1st,  Given  the  minor  premiss  and  consequent,  to  find 
the  major  premiss. 

2d,  Given  the  major  and  minor  premises,  to  find  the 
consequent. 

In  the  process  of  discovering  the  physical  sciences  we 
have  the  first  problem ;  namely,  given  the  observed 
conditions  of  matter,  and  the  observed  phenomena,  to 
infer  the  force,  or  forces,  that  in  those  conditions  would 
produce  those  phenomena.  And  when  such  forces  have 
been  suggested  as  would,  by  acting  regularly,  produce 
the  phenomena  in  the  given  conditions,  the  facts  are  said 


156        THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION. 

to  be  explained,  and  a  vast  power  of  future  calculation 
(reasoning)  is  immediately  acquired  by  man.  For  im- 
mediately the  middle  term  has  been  discovered,  we  are 
enabled  to  reason  deductively,  that  is,  from  the  two 
premises  to  the  consequent ;  and  this  middle  term  being 
a  constant,  we  have  only  to  ascertain  any  new  conditions 
to  enable  us  to  predict  future  phenomena.  If  the  real 
phenomena  coincide  with  the  predicted  phenomena  (that 
is,  if  the  effect  in  nature  coincide  with  the  consequent  of 
the  syllogism),  a  verification  is  afforded  that  the  inferred 
major  premiss  was  correct ;  but  if  they  do  not  coincide, 
we  are  immediately  led  to  the  conclusion,  either  that  the 
inferred  major  was  erroneous,  or  that  in  the  minor  some 
condition  had  been  overlooked,  which  has  tended  to  alter 
the  character  of  the  phenomena. 

Between  the  syllogism,  the  intellectual  reason  of  man- 
kind, and  the  operations  of  external  nature,  there  is  the 
most  perfect  parallelism ;  and  this  parallelism  affords  a 
most  undoubted  proof  of  the  objective  veracity  of  the 
subjective  convictions  of  the  human  mind.  Were  the 
general  convictions  of  the  human  reason  (its  axioms)  not 
true  objectively,  as  well  as  necessarily  true  subjectively, 
the  prediction  of  physical  phenomena  would  be  absolutely 
impossible.  And  although  the  philosophic  sceptic  may 
by  ingenious  ambiguities  involve  that  question  in  doubts 
and  sophisms,  surely  we  may  rest  satisfied  that  the  same 
hand  that  made  the  heavens  and  the  earth  in  so  wonder- 
ful a  harmony  of  order,  has  not  made  the  human  reason 
only  a  mockery  and  a  delusion. 

Having  indicated  the  general  process  by  which  the 
sciences  evolve  one  after  the  other,  thereby  giving  a 
necessary  order  of  classification  and  a  necessary  order  of 
chronological  discovery,  we  shall  not  attempt  the  par- 
ticular classification  of  the  physical  sciences,  but  confine 
ourselves  to  a  few  remarks  bearing  on  the  definite  mean- 
ing of  our  argument. 


THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGEESSlOtf.        157 

In  dynamics,  as  an  abstract  science,  our  term  was  a 
moveable  point.  Let  that  point  be  endowed  with  physi- 
cal characteristics  one  after  another,  and  the  physical 
sciences  arise.  From  a  point  let  it  be  transformed  into 
a  body,  possessing  weight,  or  resistance,  and  we  have 
general  mechanics — a  science  partly  physical,  partly 
mathematical. 

But  here  we  must  guard  against  being  imposed  on  by 
a  system,  however  simple  that  system  may  appear. 

In  the  mathematical  sciences  we  found  that  there  was  but 
one  series,  and  that  all  were  co-ordinated  upon  one  single 
line.  We  must  not  thence  infer  that  we  shall  find  exactly 
the  same  simplicity  in  the  physical  sciences.  Man  has 
only  one  reason,  but  he  has  several  senses ;  and  those 
senses  may  furnish  us  with  elements  independent  of  each 
other,  although  in  the  order  of  the  sciences  depending 
both  on  the  mathematical  sciences,  and  both  requisite 
before  we  can  proceed  to  other  and  more  complex 
sciences. 

Such  we  presume  light,  sound,  and  heat  to  be.  Now, 
although  we  can  have  no  hesitation  in  affirming  that 
optics  is  impossible  until  the  mathematical  sciences  have 
been  evolved  and  are  capable  of  application,  and  although 
we  must  necessarily  have  optics  before  we  can  possibly 
have  the  physiology  of  the  eye ;  yet  there  may  be  no  such 
mutual  dependence  between  optics  and  acoustics,  and  we 
may  therefore  be  obliged  to  group  these  together  as  hold- 
ing the  same  rank  in  the  classification,  and  consequently 
as  likely  to  be  discovered  about  the  same  time. 

And  here  another  question  is  necessary,  of  considerable 
importance  to  the  true  understanding  of  the  character 
of  science.  "  How  far  are  the  real  physical  sciences 
(astronomy,  for  instance)  to  be  considered  as  true 
sciences  ?  " 

All  the  phenomena  of  nature  are  operations — things 
done.  Now,  science  consists  of  knowledge,  and  knowl- 


158 

edge  exists  in  the  mind.  How,  then,  are  we  to  view  the 
real  operations  of  nature,  considered  as  external  to  the 
mind  ? 

The  real  operations  of  nature  are  to  be  viewed  as  arts — 
as  divine  arts — and  their  comprehension  alone  can  be 
called  science.  The  universe  is  God's  great  workshop,  and 
man  is  the  rational  spectator,  whose  office  it  is  to  compre- 
hend the  processes  that  are  there  carried  on.  The  mo- 
tions of  the  planets  do  not  constitute  science ;  it  is  the 
rational  apprehension  of  those  motions  in  the  human 
mind  that  constitutes  science.  But  the  principles  of 
mechanics  are  far  more  general  than  all  the  facts  of  astron- 
omy; they  apply  not  only  to  the  real  sun  and  the  real 
planets,  but  to  all  possible  suns,  and  to  all  possible  matter 
constituted  in  a  manner  similar  to  the  matter  with  which 
we  are  acquainted. 

Consequently  astronomy,  vast  as  it  is,  must  be  viewed 
only  as  a  real  illustration  of  the  principles  of  mechanics, 
as  an  exemplification  of  dynamics ;  which  exemplification 
in  every  real  item  might  have  been  totally  different,  and 
yet  have  exhibited  the  very  same  principles.  The  heav- 
enly bodies  might  have  been  twice  as  numerous  or  twice 
as  few,  and  yet  have  exhibited  exactly  the  same  principles 
of  construction ;  in  which  case  the  science  of  mechanics 
would  have  remained  exactly  as  it  is,  while  actual  astron- 
omy would  have  been  totally  dissimilar. 

From  the  more  simple  motions  of  matter  we  turn 
naturally  to  those  that  are  more  complex ;  that  is,  from 
those  that  are  more  general  to  those  that  are  more  specific. 
When  the  mere  motion  of  a  body  is  considered,  it  is  evi- 
dent that  this  motion  is  subject  to  the  same  laws,  whether 
the  body  be  a  stone,  an  apple,  or  an  animal.  But  when 
matter  is  subdivided  and  classified,  it  is  found  that  some 
motions  and  some  phenomena  are  altogether  distinct 
from  the  general  motions  of  matter.  The  phenomena 
of  magnetism,  electricity,  and  chemistry,  therefore,  take 


THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION.        159 

their  rank  after  mechanics,  and  these  in  their  turn 
are  the  necessary  preparations  for  a  new  order  of 
sciences. 

We  have  said  that  the  classification  of  the  sciences,  and 
their  chronological  discovery  (or  reduction  to  ordination), 
must  follow  the  order  of  their  complexity.  From  the 
more  simple  we  pass  to  the  more  complex,  from  the  more 
general  to  the  more  specific. 

Let  us  then  ask,  Avhat  is  necessary  to  the  complete 
understanding  of  a  single  portion  of  inorganic  matter — a 
pint  of  water,  for  instance  ?  (Speculations  on  things 
which  cannot  be  known  respecting  matter,  of  course  we 
altogether  exclude.)  This  matter  may  present  itself  in 
three  forms ;  vapor,  liquid,  and  solid — the  phenomena  of 
heat,  therefore,  are  involved.  It  may  be  decomposed ; 
chemistry  therefore  is  involved.  Electricity  may  be  gen- 
erated in  its  passage  from  a  liquid  to  a  vapor;  electricity 
therefore  is  involved.  It  may  move  as  a  solid,  or  as  a 
liquid,  or  as  a  gas ;  the  motions  of  solid,  liquids,  and  gases, 
therefore,  fall  under  separate  consideration.  It  may 
sound — acoustics  ;  may  transmit  or  reflect  light — optics  ; 
it  may  appear  in  the  form  of  rain,  hail,  or  snow ;  as  a  solid 
its  sides  may  be  numbered,  their  angles  and  their  area 
measured,  and  that  measurement  involves  the  theory  of 
quantities ;  and  finally,  without  logic  we  could  not  reason 
about  it  at  all.  It  will  be  found,  on  close  examination, 
that  the  complete  understanding  of  this  pint  of  water  in- 
volves all  the  physical  and  all  the  mathematical  sciences. 
But  this  pint  of  water  does  not  as  yet  involve  organization. 
Let  it,  however,  be  presented  as  a  constituent  part  of  a 
plant,  and  a  new  series  of  phenomena  immediately  present 
themselves ;  and,  for  the  understanding  of  these  new 
phenomena,  every  one  of  the  previous  sciences  is  absolutely 
requisite.  After  the  inorganic  sciences,  therefore,  come 
the  sciences  of  organization,  of  vegetable  and  animal 
physiology,  showing  a  continual  increase  of  complexity 


160        THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION. 

until  we  arrive  at  man,  the  most  complex  and  most  highly 
organized  of  all  the  earth's  inhabitants. 

To  consider  man,  however,  merely  in  his  physiology,  is 
to  regard  him  only  as  an  animal  made  up  of  certain  organs, 
each  of  which  has  its  function.  Physiology  teaches  us  of 
what  the  human  body  is  composed,  and  how  the  mechan- 
ism of  life  is  carried  on.  It  teaches  us  what  man  is  in  his 
bodily  frame,  and  it  endeavors  to  give  us  a  rational  view 
of  the  functions  and  uses  of  his  parts.  It  points  out  the 
relation  of  those  parts  to  the  whole,  and  it  shows  us  how 
the  living  man — the  active,  thinking,  and  sentient  agent 
— is  a  compound  of  wondrous  and  varied  mechanisms. 
But  still,  though  physiology  be  the  highest  and  most 
complex  of  all  the  physical  sciences,  there  is  something 
beyond  it,  something  that  comes  after  it  in  the  logical 
order  of  classification.  Man  himself  has  his  functions ; 
and  when  AVC  have  considered  what  man  is,  we  may  turn 
to  what  man  does. 

Man  is  by  nature  a  social  being,  made  to  live  in  society, 
and  his  social  acts  have  their  laws,  which  when  under- 
stood give  us  a  new  order  of  knowledge,  altogether 
distinct  from  the  knowledge  contained  in  the  previous 
sciences. 

Men  must  buy  and  sell,  cultivate  and  navigate,  trade 
and  manufacture — in  a  word,  men  must  act ;  and,  as  there 
is  no  necessary  power  determining  them  to  act  in  any  one 
particular  direction,  there  is  ever  before  them  a  right 
course  and  a  wrong  course ;  the  one  tending  to  a  good 
and  beneficial  condition  of  society,  the  other  to  a  bad  and 
detrimental  condition  of  society.  And  again,  men  may 
trespass  on  each  other — may  inflict  pain  on  each  other — 
may  do  evil  to  each  other.  Men  therefore  must  legislate. 

And  here  an  evident  distinction  presents  itself,  which 
enables  us  to  classify  human  action.  We  may  ask,  "  What 
means  will  lead  to  a  certain  end  ?  "  and  "  What  is  the  end 
that  ought  to  be  produced  ?  " 


THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION.         161 

We  have  here  two  social  sciences,  in  each  of  which 
there  is  the  same  stable  truth  that  prevails  in  all  the  other 
sciences,  if  man  can  only  discover  it  and  reduce  it  to  scien- 
tific ordination.  It  must  be  within  the  reach  of  man,  or 
else  we  must  admit  that  all  rules  of  social  action  are 
purely  arbitrary  ;  that  is,  in  fact,  that  there  are  no  rules. 
Such  a  supposition,  however,  is  perfectly  absurd,  and  can 
never  be  consistently  maintained. 

On  the  above  distinction  is  grounded  the  division  of 
social  science  into  non-moral  and  moral ;  the  one  treating 
exclusively  on  the  relation  of  means  to  an  end,  and  the 
other  exclusively  on  the  end  that  ought  to  be  the  object 
of  pursuit. 

In  these  new  sciences  human  action  is  the  element  with 
which  we  have  to  reason ;  and  the  conditions  of  men  are 
the  phenomena  that  result  directly  from  that  action.  We 
have  therefore — 

1st,  An  inductive  science  of  human  action,  which  pre- 
sents itself  in  the  following  form : — 

1.  Given  the  actual  actions  of  men  in  their  social  ca- 
pacity.    This  is  the  minor  proposition  of  the  syllogism. 

2.  Given  the  actual  conditions  of  men. 

This  is  the  consequent  or  conclusion  of  the  syllogism, 
the  conditions  of  men  being  the  effects  of  their  actions.* 

And  the  problem  is  to  find  "  the  general  expression  of 
the  relation  between  the  actions  of  men  and  their  social 
condition."  When  this  general  expression  is  found,  it 
supplies  the  major  proposition  of  the  syllogism  ;  and  the 
criterion  of  this  major  being  correct,  is,  that  the  observed 
phenomena  contained  in  the  consequent  of  the  syllogism 

*  The  conditions  of  men  here  spoken  of,  must  not  be  confounded  with  the 
conditions  of  the  syllogism.  The  syllogistic  conditions  are  the  conditions  of  the 
subject  with  which  we  reason,  and  here  we  reason  with  human  actions.  Were 
we,  however,  to  reason  inversely  from  the  conditions  of  men  to  the  probable 
actions  of  men  in  those  conditions  or  circumstances  (quite  a  legitimate  and 
a  most  important  syllogism),  then  those  conditions  would  really  become  the 
logical  conditions,  or  minor  proposition ;  whereas,  here  they  are  the  con- 
sequent, or  conclusion. 
II 


162         THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION. 

would  follow  logically  from  the  major  and  minor  premises. 
If  such  a  major  cannot  be  found  as  would  logically  pro- 
duce all  the  observed  phenomena  from  all  the  observed 
conditions,  we  must  seek  further  until  a  satisfactory  major 
is  discovered. 

2d,   A  deductive  science  of  human  action.* 

It  is  evident  that,  anterior  to  all  induction  whatever, 
there  are  certain  acts  which  ought  not  to  be  done.  The 
first  man  who  committed  murder  was  as  guilty  of  com- 
mitting a  crime  as  the  last  man  who  shall  raise  the  un- 
happy hand  of  violence  against  his  brother.  He  could, 
however,  have  no  inductive  evidence  of  the  effects  of  his 
action ;  and  the  same  holds  true  of  robbery,  fraud,  and 
every  other  crime.  Consequently  we  may  inquire,  what 
was  it  that  made  the  first  murder  a  crime,  and  how  could 
man  know  that  such  an  act  ought  not  to  be  performed? 

The  mind  of  man  views  actions  not  merely  in  their 
physical  characteristics,  but  as  being  equitable  or  unequi- 
table, just  or  unjust;  and  this  equity  gives  an  d, priori 
boundary  to  action,  and  lays  a  moral  restriction  on  man, 
which  will  prevent  him  from  injuring  his  fellow  even 
where  he  has  no  inductive  evidence  whatever. 

The  principles  of  this  equity  are  abstract  and  universal 
convictions  of  the  reason,  and  the  problem  presents  itself 
in  the  following  manner : — 

1st,  Given  the  general  axioms  of  equity.  (This  is  the 
major  proposition ;)  and, 

2d,  Given  the  physical  or  non-moral  characteristics  of 
an  action.  (This  is  the  minor  proposition  of  the  syllo- 
gism.) 

To  find  the  moral  character  of  that  action,  namely, 
whether  it  be  a  duty  or  a  crime.  (This  is  the  conclusion 
of  the  syllogism.) 

*  This  science  is  perfectly  distinct  from  any  deductions  that  might  be  made 
in  the  previous  science  when  the  major  proposition  was  discovered.  And  yet 
there  cannot  be  the  slightest  doubt  that  the  two  sciences,  perfectly  understood, 
would  lead  to  the  same  identical  conclusion. 


THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION.         163 

The  first  of  these  sciences  is  political  economy,  which 
is  purely  inductive,  and  treats  of  the  physical  effects  of 
human  action  so  far  as  those  effects  are  to  be  discovered 
in  the  condition  of  societies.  The  second  is  politics,  the 
science  of  equity  which  is  purely  abstract,  and  treats  of 
the  universal  principles  that  ought  to  regulate  human 
action,  so  far  as  men  can  affect  each  other  by  their  ac- 
tions. 

The  fundamental  noun-substantive  of  political  economy 
is  utility,  of  which  value  is  the  measure.*  The  funda- 
mental noun-substantive  of  politics  is  equity,  which, 
having  its  abstract  laws  in  the  very  constitution  of  the 
human  mind,  gives  us  the  moral  measure  of  human 
action. 

We  now  turn  to  the  practical  bearing  of  our  argument, 
for  which  the  rough  sketch  we  have  given  of  the  classifi- 
cation of  the  sciences  was  only  the  requisite  preliminary. 

We  maintain,  then, 

First,  That  the  sciences,  classed  on  their  complexity, 
must  be  classed  in  the  following  order : — 

1st,  The  mathematical  and  force  sciences. 

2d,  The  inorganic  physical  sciences,  beginning  with 
the  most  general,  and  terminating  with  the  most  specific. 

3d,  The  organic  physical  sciences,  composed  of  veg- 
etable and  animal  physiology. 

4th,  The  sciences  that  relate  exclusively  to  man,  and 
that  treat  of  human  action.  These  are,  (1)  non-moral, 
political  economy,  which  treats  of  the  beneficial  or  pre- 
judicial effects  of  human  action;  (2)  moral,  politics, 
which  treats  of  the  moral  character  of  human  action, 
whether  that  action  be  the  action  of  a  single  individual 
towards  another  individual,  or  whether  it  be  the  action 
of  a  whole  society,  or  portion  of  a  society,  with  all  the 

*  And  value  (the  abstraction)  is  itself  measured  by  the  outward  fact  of  ex- 
changeability ;  and  exchangeability  is  again  measured  by  the  middle  term 
money.  In  Britain,  for  instance,  by  gold,  which  is  called  the  standard. 


164        THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN 

formality  of  legislation,  etc.  Politics  is,  in  fact,  nothing 
more  than  the  moral  law  which  ought  to  regulate  the 
actions  of  the  individual,  extended  to  the  actions  of  men 
when  associated  as  a  political  society,  the  same  moral  law 
being  obligatory  on  multitudes  that  is  obligatory  on  the 
individual. 

Our  argument  then  is,  that  "  there  is  a  natural  prob- 
ability in  favor  of  a  millennium ; "  and  this  natural  prob- 
ability is  based — 

1st,  On  the  division  and  classification  of  human  knowl- 
edge. 

2d,  On  the  fact  that  the  chronological  order  of  the  dis- 
covery of  the  sciences  is  the  same  as  the  order  of  classi- 
fication. 

3d,  On  the  power  of  correct  credence  (knowledge)  to 
produce  correct  action. 

Let  us,  in  the  first  place,  endeavor  to  settle  definitely 
what  we  mean  by  a  millennium. 

1st,  We  do  not  mean  any  particular  portion  of  time. 

2d,  We  do  not  mean  a  miraculous  condition  of  society, 
produced  by  the  power  of  Almighty  God  working  super- 
natural changes  in  the  nature  of  man.  It  may  be  true 
that  God,  in  his  infinite  goodness,  shall,  ere  the  world's 
end,  so  enlighten  mankind  by  the  divine  spirit  of  grace 
and  wisdom,  that  it  may  almost  be  no  metaphor  to  say 
that  man  has  become  a  new  creature.  This  may  be  true ; 
but  this  is  not  what  we  refer  to. 

3d,  We  do  not  mean  a  personal  reign  of  the  Son  of 
God,  the  Saviour  of  the  world.  On  this  subject  we  can 
offer  no  possible  opinion.  That  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ 
shall  reign  in  power,  and  that  his  will  shall  be  done  on 
earth  ere  the  earth's  history  closes,  we  believe  with  the 
most  undoubted  assurance.  But  that  the  Redeemer  of 
mankind  shall  again  appear  in  person  before  he  cometh 
to  judge  the  world,  this  is  a  question  which  we  must  leave 
unanswered. 


THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION.         165 

4th,  By  a  millennium  we  mean  a  period  of  universal 
peace  and  prosperity — a  reign  of  knowledge,  justice,  and 
benevolence — a  period  when  the  condition  of  man  upon 
the  globe  shall  be  the  best  the  circumstances  of  the  earth 
permit  of — when  the  systematic  arrangements  of  society 
shall  be  in  perfect  accordance  with  the  dictates  of  man's 
reason — and  when  societies  shall  act  correctly,  and 
thereby  evolve  the  maximum  of  happiness  possible  on 
earth. 

A  millennium,  therefore,  is  for  us  a  period  when  truth 
shall  be  discovered  and  carried  into  practical  operation. 
This  is  the  essence  of  human  welfare, — truth  discovered 
and  carried  into  practical  operation. 

Let  it  be  remembered  that  the  progress  of  mankind  in 
the  evolution  of  civilization,  is  a  progress  from  supersti- 
tion and  error  towards  knowledge.  Superstition  and 
error  present  themselves  under  the  form  of  diversity  of 
credence ;  knowledge  presents  itself  under  the  form  of 
unity  of  credence.  Wherever  there  is  knowledge,  that 
knowledge  is  the  same  in  all  parts  of  the  earth,  and  the 
same  in  substance  whatever  language  it  may  use  as  the 
instrument  of  expression.  The  progress  of  mankind, 
therefore,  is  a  progress  from  diversity  of  credence  towards 
unity  of  credence.  There  is  but  one  truth,  one  scheme 
of  knowledge;  and  consequently,  wherever  knowledge  is 
really  attained,  diversity  of  credence  is  impossible. 
Where  men  differ  in  credence,  they  differ  because  one  or 
all  have  not  knowledge. 

We  have  then  to  ask,  "  Into  what  branches  is  knowledge 
divided  ?"  "  What  is  the  logical  order  of  those  branches 
in  a  scheme  of  classification?"  "In  what  chronological 
order  have  the  various  branches  been  reduced  to  scientific 
ordination  ?  "  "  At  which  branch  are  the  most  advanced 
nations  now  in  the  nineteenth  century  ? "  and,  "  What 
are  the  branches  that  yet  remain  to  be  reduced  to  scien- 
tific ordination  ;  and  in  what  order  may  we  expect  those 


166          THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION. 

future  branches  to  be  reduced  to  the  form  of  science, 
which  excludes  diversity  of  credence  ?" 

The  natural  probability  of  a  future  Reign  of  Justice  is 
based  on  the  answers  to  these  questions.  If  there  be  a 
scheme  of  knowledge,  and  if  the  past  history  of  science 
proves  that  the  sciences  have  been  evolved  one  after  the 
other  in  accordance  with  that  scheme,  we  assert  that 
there  is  nothing  unreasonable  in  anticipating,  that  the 
future  progress  of  discovery  will  continue  to  go  on  in  the 
same  direction.  On  the  contrary,  we  maintain  that  such 
anticipation  is  a  fair,  legitimate,  and  impartial  inference 
from  the  facts  before  us.  We  are  well  aware  of  the 
ridicule  which  practical  politicians  endeavor  to  throw  on 
the  anticipation  of  a  political  millennium,  and  too  often 
with  a  levity  which  we  cannot  esteem  other  than  unbecom- 
•  ing,  when  we  know  that  the  Creator  of  mankind  has  dis- 
tinctly promised  a  period  of  peace  and  prosperity  to  our 
race.  It  may  not  be  given  to  man  to  know  the  times  and 
the  seasons,  but  most  certainly  it  is  given  to  man  to  know 
the  fact ;  and  surely  it  would  be  as  wise  to  speak  of  that 
fact  with  modest  reverence,  instead  of  associating  it,  or 
even  a  wrong  anticipation  of  it,  with  the  scoff,  and  the 
jeer,  and  the  gibe  of  ridicule. 

To  the  above  questions,  then,  we  give  the  following 
answers : — 

1st,  Into  what  branches  is  knowledge  divided?  Into 
the  facts  of  sensational  and  psychological  observation, 
rational  science,  and  history.  Savage  nations  may  see 
the  sun  rise  and  set,  and  the  moon  wax  and  wane,  and 
they  may  see  for  centuries  these  and  the  other  phe- 
nomena of  nature  without  advancing  in  intelligence. 
The  son,  like  the  father,  may  live  and  die  a  savage.  It  is 
not  till  man  begins  to  reason — that  is,  to  make  rational 
science — that  the  foundation  of  natural  civilization  is 
laid,  and  the  first  step  taken  in  that  course  which  con- 
tinually tends  to  distinguish  man  more  and  more  from 


THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION.         167 

the  animals,  and  to  make  the  intellectual  portion  of  his 
nature  predominate  over  the  instincts  of  his  bodily  frame. 
History,  again,  is  a  branch  of  knowledge  common  to 
every  reality  with  which  we  are  acquainted.  In  it,  there- 
fore, we  must  not  look  for  the  great  element  of  human 
progression.  That  element  is  found  in  rational  science, 
and  rational  science  is  divided  into  the  following 
branches : — 

1.  The  mathematical  and  force  sciences — beginning  at 
logic,  and  ending  with  dynamics. 

2.  The  inorganic  physical  sciences — beginning  with  the 
most  general,  and  ending  with  the  most  specific. 

These  we  have  attempted  to  arrange  generally  in  the 
table  in  the  Appendix.*  What  are  called  the  mixed 
sciences,  are  only  general  physical  sciences ;  and  these  of 
course  would  come  first,  while  chemistry  and  galvanism 
probably  would  occupy  the  most  advanced  station  in  the 
series. 

3.  The  organic  physical  sciences,  including  (1)  vege- 
table physiology,  and  (2)  animal  physiology. 

Anatomy  is  not  a  science,  it  is  a  mere  classification 
forming  a  portion  of  physiology.  Physiology  is  the 
architecture  (anatomy),  dynamics,  and  chemistry  of 
organized  bodies ;  that  is,  architecture,  dynamics,  and 
chemistry,  applied  to  the  functions  of  vitality. 

4.  Man-science. 

The  sciences  of  human  action  are : — 

(1 .)  A  sensational  and  inductive  science,  called  political 
economy. 

(2.)  A  moral  and  deductive  science,  which  we  call 
politics. 

The  order  in  which  we  have  given  the  sciences  answers 
the  second  question  ;  namely,  "  What  is  the  logical  order 
of  the  branches  of  knowledge  in  a  scherge  of  classifica- 
tion?" 

*  See  Appendix. 


168          TllK  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION. 

The  third  question  is,  "  In  what  chronological  order 
have  the  various  branches  been  reduced  to  scientific 
ordination?"  The  chronological  order  in  which  the 
sciences  have  been  discovered,  or  reduced  to  ordination, 
is  correlative  with  the  logical  scheme  of  classification. 
As  a  history  of  the  actual  evolution  of  the  sciences  would 
be  out  of  place  in  the  present  volume,  we  must  be  content 
with  stating  the  fact,  that  the  mathematical  sciences 
were  first  evolved,  then  the  more  simple  of  the  physical 
sciences  ;  and  that  the  progress  of  discovery  since  the 
time  of  Newton,  down  to  the  present  day,  has  been,  as 
nearly  as  we  could  possibly  expect,  on  the  very  same 
principle  of  complexity  that  forms  the  ground  of  classifi- 
cation. And  it  would  not  be  difficult,  we  think,  to  prove 
not  only  that  it  has  been  so,  but  that  it  could  not  possibly 
have  been  otherwise.  Without  geometry,  statics  and 
dynamics  are  impossible  ;  without  statics  and  dynamics, 
hydrostatics  and  hydrodynamics  are  impossible;  and 
without  hydrostatics  and  hydrodynamics,  that  portion  of 
physiology  which  treats  of  the  phenomena  of  vegetable 
and  animal  circulation  is  also  impossible.  Here  the  one 
science  must  precede  the  other  in  chronological  discovery, 
because  it  is  requisite  to  render  that  other  science  dis- 
coverable. The  one  is  the  means  whereby  we  attain  to 
the  other,  just  as  in  a  single  science  one  problem  must 
be  solved  before  we  can,  by  any  possibility,  attain  to  the 
solution  of  another  problem.  And  the  law  of  this  depend- 
ence of  one  science  on  another  is,  that  the  truths  of  the 
antecedent  science,  which  are  the  objects  of  research  when 
we  study  that  science,  become  subjective — that  is,  means 
of  operation — when  we  study  the  consequent  science. 

It  is  impossible,  therefore,  that  the  sciences  should  be 
discovered  in  any  other  than  a  certain  order;  that  is, 
man  must  acquire  knowledge  on  a  scheme  which  has 
laws  as  fixed  and  definite  as  the  very  laws  of  the  sciences 
themselves. 


THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION.         169 

We  may  remark,  however,  in  the  evolution  of  the 
sciences,  that  it  is  not  necessary  that  the  whole  (all  that 
can  be  known)  of  an  antecedent  science  should  be  evolved 
before  the  elementary  portion  of  the  consequent  science 
is  commenced.  When  geometry  has  made  a  certain  pro- 
gress, statics  may  be  commenced ;  and  thus  the  earlier 
portion  of  statics  may  be  evolved  coincidently  with  the 
more  advanced  portion  of  geometry.  Again,  when  inor- 
ganic chemistry  has  made  a  certain  progress,  organic 
chemistry  may  be  commenced  ;  and  its  more  elementary 
truths  will  be  undergoing  a  process  of  evolution  coinci- 
dently with  the  more  advanced  truths  of  inorganic  chem- 
istry. 

Thus,  although  the  sciences  are  necessarily  antecedent 
and  consequent  to  each  other,  they  interweave  or  overlap 
each  other  in  their  chronological  evolution;  just  as  father 
and  son  may  be  alive  at  the  same  time,  yet  the  father  is 
necessarily  older  than  the  son.  And  in  the  evolution  of 
the  sciences,  we  may  have  several  generations  on  foot  at 
a  given  period;  we  may  have  three,  four,  five,  or  six 
sciences  all  undergoing  the  process  of  evolution,  but  all 
at  different  stages  of  progress.  The  first  may  be  toler- 
ably complete  ;  the  second  less  so  ;  the  third  still  less  so; 
the  fourth  may  be  but  beginning  to  assume  the  form  of  a 
teachable  branch  of  knowledge;  the  fifth  only  settling 
its  nomenclature  and  classification  ;  while  the  sixth  only 
shows  symptoms  of  commencement,  attracting  perhaps  a 
large  share  of  attention,  but  being  replete  with  arbitrary 
opinion,  superstitious  credence,  and  general  diversity  of 
statement.  When  geometry  was  a  science,  astronomy 
was  a  superstition  ;  and  when  mechanics  and  astronomy 
were  sciences,  chemistry  was  a  superstition ;  and  when 
chemistry  had  assumed  the  form  of  science,  political 
economy  was  a  superstition ;  and  now  that  political 
economy  begins  to  assume  somewhat  of  scientific  ordina- 
tion, politics  is  little  better  than  a  superstition. 


170         THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION. 

We  may,  therefore,  have  several  sciences  on  foot  at 
the  same  period,  yet  all  at  different  stages  of  progress. 
And  this  brings  us  to  the  next  question— 

"  At  which  branch  or  branches  of  knowledge  are  the 
most  advanced  nations  now  in  the  nineteenth  century?" 

There  are  several  tests  which  we  may  apply  to  a  branch 
of  knowledge  to  ascertain  whether  it  is  or  is  not  a  science ; 
that  is,  whether  it  is  as  yet  reduced  to  scientific  ordina- 
tion. 

1st.  It  must  have  a  definite  province,  so  that  we  dis- 
tinctly understand  what  we  are  reasoning  about.* 

2d.  It  must  be  teachable  as  a  branch  of  knowledge. 


*  The  great  error  of  philosophy  has  been  the  want  of  a  definition.  Philoso- 
phers have  forgotten  to  tell  us  what  it  really  was  that  they  were  going  to  treat 
of.  It  is  quite  evident  that  thought,  and  the  laws  of  thought,  are  perfectly  dis- 
tinct from  realities,  and  the  laws  of  realities ;  and  no  science  under  the  same 
name  can  be  allowed  to  treat  of  both.  Philosophers  have  jumbled  the  two 
together  in  a  most  illegitimate  manner,  and  the  consequence  was,  that  when 
they  encountered  something  connected  with  thought  which  they  could  not  ex- 
plain, they  astounded  the  world  with  inconceivable  assertions  with  regard  to 
realities.  Some,  by  this  rather  curious  process,  discovered  that  there  was  no 
matter,  others,  that  there  was  no  mind,  and  some,  though  we  almost  hesitate 
to  affirm  it,  dared  to  call  in  question  the  existence  of  our  Divine  Maker,  and  to 
dethrone  the  Lord  of  heaven  and  earth. 

If  philosophy  will  treat  of  thought,  let  it  confine  itself  to  thought,  and  if  it 
will  treat  of  realities,  let  it  confine  itself  to  realities,  and  become  theology,  or 
any  other  branch  of  knowledge  ;  but  we  maintain  that  it  is  quite  illegitimate 
for  philosophy  to  jump  backwards  and  forwards,  from  thought  to  reality,  and 
from  reality  to  thought.  Such  a  method  necessarily  produces  inextricable  con- 
fusion, and  the  very  foundations  of  human  credence  become  shaken  in  the 
minds  of  those  whose  intellectual  constitution  enables  them  to  see  only  as  far 
as  the  difficulty  without  seeing  through  it.  Hume,  perhaps,  only  intended  to 
puzzle  people,  and  his  amazing  acuteness  enabled  him  to  baffle  and  to  mystify 
many  an  honest  head.  But  it  was  a  fearful  amusement  :  it  might  be  a  mere 
game,  but  it  was  a  fiend's  game  ;  and  although  we  cannot  but  admire  the  clear- 
ness and  purity  of  Hume's  intellect,  we  have  often  thought  (and  not  without 
regret)  how  much  greater  and  how  much  better  a  man  he  would  have  been,  had 
he  endeavored  in  honest  sincerity  of  heart  to  solve  the  difficulties  as  well  as  t<> 
propound  them.  We  have  no  doubt  whatever,  that  Hume  knew  that  his  soph- 
isms were  sophisms,  and  in  his  own  mind  saw  much  further  through  them* 
than  he  liked  to  acknowledge.  Had  Hume  not  been  a  sceptic,  he  might  prob- 
ably have  been  at  the  head  of  all  modern  writers  on  philosophy  ;  for  he 
undoubtedly  possessed  that  exquisitely  subtle  intellect,  without  which  a  man 
(however  great  his  other  acquirements)  can  never  be  more  than  a  second-rate 
philosopher. 


THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION.         171 

For  this  purpose,  its  propositions  must  be  co-ordinated, 
so  that  we  can  know  whether  we  are  at  the  commence- 
ment, or  how  far  we  have  progressed  beyond  the  com- 
mencement. Philosophy,  as  yet,  has  scarcely  a  com- 
mencement, middle,  or  end  ;  although  symptoms  are  be- 
ginning to  show  themselves  that  erelong  we  may  expect 
something  very  much  more  satisfactory. 

3d.  It  must  be  capable  of  subjective  application.  This 
we  consider  to  be  the  proper  criterion  of  the  state  of  a 
science.  If  it  is  incapable  of  application,  it  is  only  under- 
going the  process  of  discovery ;  if  it  is  capable  of  applica- 
tion, it  is  so  far  complete.  It  is  then  the  same  for  all 
men  alike  (there  is  but  one  truth),  and  it  becomes  a  means 
of  operation  whereby  things  are  done  which  could  not 
otherwise  have  been  done. 

We  ask,  then,  at  what  sciences  are  the  most  advanced 
nations  now  in  the  nineteenth  century  ? 

It  is  evident  that  the  mathematical  sciences,  and  the 
more  general  physical  sciences,  fulfil  the  above  conditions. 
The  question  then  is  with  the  advanced  physical  sciences, 
and  with  those  that  follow  them  in  the  scheme  of  classifi- 
cation. 

Let  us  take  chemistry  as  the  most  advanced  inorganic 
physical  science,  and  classify  the  sciences  that  follow 
chemistry  in  the  natural  scheme  of  classification.  We 
have  then — 

Chemistry. 

Vegetable  physiology. 
Animal  physiology. 
Man-science. 

The  new  term  acquired  in  the  passage  from  the  inor- 
ganic to  the  organic  sciences,  is  vitality — life. 

Vegetable  physiology  presents  itself  under  two  aspects, 
which  give  us  two  sciences ;  the  one  treating  of  the  struc- 
ture and  functions  of  the  organs  of  plants,  the  other  of 
the  structure  and  functions  of  the  whole  vegetable  king- 


172         THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION. 

dom,  considered  as  one  of  the  great  organs  of  the  terres- 
trial economy. 

A  science,  we  have  said,  contains — 

1st.  A  nomenclature.  2d.  A  classification.  3d.  Rea- 
soning. 

And  the  correlatives  of  these  in  nature  are — 

1st.  The  objects.  2d.  Their  conditions.  3d.  Their 
functions. 

Vegetable  physiology,  then,  has  two  forms ;  that  which 
relates  to  the  life,  growth,  and  propagation  of  a  single 
plant,  composed  of  many  organs,  and  that  which  relates 
to  the  vegetable  kingdom,  composed  of  many  species  of 
plants. 

Let  us  designate  these  as  internal  and  external  physi- 
ology, and  we  shall  then  be  able  to  classify 'the  various 
branches  of  botany. 


A  SCIENCE  IN  GENERAL. 


1.  NOMENCLATURE. 

2.  CLASSIFICATION. 

3.  REASONING. 

The  objects  described 
and  named. 

Statement  of  the  con- 
ditions and  relations 
of  the  objects. 

Syllogistic  scheme  of 
the  functions  of  the 
objects. 

GENERAL  FORMULA   APPLIED  TO, 

1st. — Internal  Physiology. 


Nomenclature  of    the 
various  parts,  or  or- 
gans, of  the  single 
plants.    Description 
of  the  organs. 

Classification  of  those 
parts,     including 
their  mechanical  and 
chemical  adaptation. 

Function  of  those 
parts  in  the  phenom- 
ena of  life,  growth, 
and  propagation. 

2d.  —  External  Physiology. 

Comparative    nomen- 
clature of  the   vari- 
ous plants  that    in- 
habit the  globe.  Com- 
parative anatomy. 

Classification  of  those- 
plants,     and     their 
arrangement. 

Function  of  plants  in 
the  terrestrial  econ- 
omy. 

TUE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION. 


173 


The  support  of  the  animal  kingdom  is  the  great  prac- 
tical function  of  the  vegetable  kingdom. 

The  same  principles  of  classification  apply  to  animal 
physiology,  where  we  have — 


First. 


Nomenclature  and  de- 
scription of  organs. 
Descriptive     anato- 
my. 

Classification  ;  that  is, 
the  organs  assem- 
bled into  apparatus 
—  e.  g.,  digestive  ap- 
paratus, respiratory 
apparatus,  etc. 

Function  of  those 
parts  in  the  phenom- 
ena of  animal  life. 

Second. 

Comparative     nomen- 
clature of  the  vari- 
ous animals  that  in- 
habit the  globe.  Com- 
parative      anatomy, 
and  description. 

Classification  of  those 
animals,  and  their 
arrangement  into 
groups. 

Function  of  the  ani- 
mal kingdom  in  the 
terrestrial  economy. 

The  individual  nomenclature  of  the  various  plants  and 
animals  is  in  the  first  place  arbitrary,  and  subject  to  no 
rules ;  comparison,  however,  introduces  the  element  of 
co-ordination,  and  a  systematic  nomenclature  is  adopted, 
constituting  the  scheme  of  species,  genera,,  classes, 
etc. 

It  will  be  observed  that  chemistry,  hydrodynamics, 
etc.,  are  absolutely  requisite  before  internal  vegetable 
physiology  can  make  a  scientific  progress.  The  functions 
of  the  organs  of  plants  are  explicable  only  in  and  through 
the  perfection  of  the  inorganic  sciences,  and  the  latter 
must  necessarily  be  so  far  advanced  as  to  be  capable  of 
subjective  application  before  the  former  can  by  any  pos- 
sibility be  explained. 

But  if  the  immediate  use  of  plants  in  the  physical 
economy  of  the  earth  be  the  maintenance  of  animal  life ; 
external  vegetable  physiology,  which  treats  of  the  func- 


174          rilK  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION. 

tions  of  the  vegetable  kingdom,  is  the  necessary  prepar- 
ation for  internal  animal  physiology ;  no  theory  of  the 
nutrition  of  animals  being  possible,  without  first  of  all 
arriving  at  a  knowledge  of  the  nutriment.  Hence,  also, 
the  chemistry  of  inorganic  matter,  and  the  chemistry  of 
vegetable  substances  and  products,  must  be  evolved  be- 
fore there  can  be  a  theory  of  vegetable  nutrition. 

The  maintenance  of  animal  life  is  the  physical  ultima- 
tum of  the  earth,  the  last  final  function  of  matter.  When 
we  proceed  beyond  this,  we  arrive  at  a  region  where  the 
functions  are  no  longer  purely  physical  ;  for  although 
man  in  his  political  economy  may  partly  be  viewed  as  a 
higher  kind  of  animal,  yet  his  functions,  even  in  that 
region,  are  essentially  distinguished  from  those  of  animals 
by  the  introduction  of  intellectual  computation.  The 
physical  world  may,  it  is, true,  sustain  mankind — may 
feed,  clothe,  and  shelter  man's  animal  frame ;  but  in  the 
production  of  food,  and  in  its  distribution,  there  is  a 
function  of  intelligence  which  prevents  the  maintenance 
of  man  from  being  classed  as  a  mere  physical  phenom- 
enon. 

When,  therefore,  we  turn  to  the  sustentation  of  men 
associated  together  in  society,  we  have  passed  from  the 
region  of  mere  organization,  and  have  entered  the  sphere 
of  rational  intelligence. 

The  science  that  treats  of  the  production  and  distribu- 
tion of  food,  and  the  other  physical  requirements  of  man, 
is  termed  political  economy ;  and  the  ultimatum  of  that 
science  is,  "  How  may  the  greatest  physical  good  be  pro- 
cured for  the  greatest  number  ?  "  * 

This  ultimatum  is  not  arbitrary,  as  some  would  almost 

*  It  is  usual  in  Britain  to  confine  the  province  of  political  economy  to  the 
production  of  wealth,  and  this  view  is  correct  and  convenient,  if  the  name 
political  economy  be  reserved  for  the  first  and  simplest  embranchment  of  social 
science.  But  as  the  distribution  must  have  its  laws  as  well  as  the  production, 
those  laws  require  investigation,  and  a  special  name  must  be  accorded  to  this 
portion  of  social  science,  which  is,  in  fact,  of  greater  practical  importance  than 
the  other. 


THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION.         175 

have  us  suppose ;  it  is  the  necessary  end  of  the  science 
if  that  science  have  any  existence.  Just  as  we  are  neces- 
sarily led  to  view  the  surface  of  the  earth  in  its  function 
of  sustaining  vegetable  life,  and  the  vegetable  kingdom 
in  its  function  of  sustaining  animal  life ;  so  are  we  led  by 
the  very  laws  of  our  intelligence  to  posit  the  physical 
benefit  of  mankind  as  the  ultimatum  to  which  all  econom- 
ical arrangements  should  tend,  if  they  do  not  depart 
from  the  very  intention  which  is  the  ground  and  origin 
of  their  existence. 

But  political  economy  is  a  mere  computation  of  ante- 
cedences and  sequences  :  it  tells  what  results  follow  cer- 
tain conditions  ;  and,  generalizing  its  facts,  it  at  last 
arrives  at  the  laws  which  regulate  the  physical  condition 
of  man,  so  far  as  that  condition  is  the  consequence  of 
human  action.  The  utmost  that  it  can  tell  is,  "  what 
means  lead  to  a  certain  end ; "  but  being  based  purely  on 
observation,  it  can  never  lay  on  us  a  duty,  nor  deter  us 
from  a  crime.  Even  in  its  ultimatum,  it  can  only  say,  that 
if  men  do  not  pursue  their  advantage,  they  act  irrationally, 
but  never  can  it  say  that  they  act  criminally.  It  com- 
putes the  mechanism  of  human  action,  but  never  can 
determine  the  end  of  human  action.  Duty  and  crime  are 
terms  with  which  it  has  no  concern,  and  to  which  it  can 
attach  no  meaning.  It  is  merely  observational,  and  must 
confine  itself  as  a  science  to  the  generalization  of  facts, 
while,  when  taken  as  a  practical  rule  of  action,  its  sphere 
extends  no  further  than  the  physical  wellbeing  of  man- 
kind ;  and  the  "  benefit  of  the  greatest  number  "  is  fixed 
on,  not  from  any  idea  of  moral  duty,  but  merely  because 
that  ultimatum  exhibits  the  greatest  quantity.  In  no 
sense  is  this  science  one  iota  more  moral  than  astronomy, 
which  furnishes  the  practical  rule  of  navigation,  or  geome- 
try, which  furnishes  the  practical  rule  of  mensuration. 
To  confound  it  ( with  duty,  is  essentially  to  destroy  its 
character  as  an  inductive  science. 


17(1         77/7?  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION. 

In  answer  to  the  question,  then,  "At  what  sciences  are 
the  most  advanced  nations  now  in  the  nineteenth  cen- 
tury ?  "  we  reply, — 

The  marks  by  which  we  recognize  the  condition  of  a 
science,  and  its  relative  perfection,  are,— 

1st,  It  must  have  a  definite  province. 

2d,  It  must  be  teachable  as  a  system. 

3d,  It  must  be  capable  of  subjective  application.  And 
a  science  consists  of  a  nomenclature,  classification,  and 
reasoning.  The  genuine  criterion  of  the  perfection  of  a 
science  is,  that  it  is  capable  of  subjective  application,  and 
only  in  so  far  as  it  is  thus  capable  can  it  be  considered 
perfect. 

A  slight  attention  to  the  recent  labors  of  scientific  men, 
will  convince  us  that  chemistry  fulfils  the  above  condi- 
tions ;  that  not  only  have  its  nomenclature  and  classifica- 
tion been  tolerably  well  perfected,  but  that  its  reasoning 
is  so  far  advanced  as  to  render  it  capable  of  application 
to  the  regions  that  lie  beyond  it.  Here  it  is  only  neces- 
sary to  refer  to  the  researches  of  Liebig  and  his  fellow- 
laborers  in  the  region  of  chemico-physiology. 

Vegetable  physiology  is,  and  must  ever  be,  consequent 
on  chemistry  and  electricity ;  and,  being  logically  conse- 
quent, must  also  be  chronologically  subsequent  in  the 
order  of  its  discovery  ;  that  is,  of  its  reduction  to  scientific 
ordination.  If  chemistry,  therefore,  have  only  been  re- 
cently rendered  capable  of  subjective  application,  we  must 
naturally  expect  that  vegetable  physiology  shall  present 
a  less  degree  of  perfection  ;  and  that,  at  all  events,  some 
years  must  elapse  before  it  shall  be  so  completely  devel- 
oped as  to  change  from  an  object  of  study  to  an  instru- 
ment of  operation. 

But  vegetable  physiology,  although  necessarily  pos- 
terior to  chemistry,  and  in  the  present  day  only  under- 
going its  process  of  evolution,  is  already  further  advanced 
than  chemistry  was  one  hundred  years  since.  As  the 


THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION.         177 

various  sciences  are  necessarily  antecedent  and  subse- 
quent to  each  other,  so  are  the  various  parts  of  the  same 
science  necessarily  antecedent  and  subsequent ;  and  when 
we  analyze  vegetable  physiology  into  its  various  parts, 
we  find  that  the  earlier  portions  have  already  assumed 
the  form  of  scientific  ordination. 

Vegetable  physiology  consists  of  mechanics  (including 
architecture,  statics,  dynamics),  chemistry,  and  electricity, 
applied  to  the  objects  endowed  with  vegetable  life  ;  and 
the  ultimate  object  of  research  is,  the  explanation  of  the 
process  by  which  the  functions  of  life,  growth,  and  prop- 
agation are  carried  on.  In  the  architecture  we  have  the 
enumeration,  nomenclature,  and  description  of  the  organs  ; 
in  the  mechanics  we  have  their  adaptation  for  the  per- 
formance of  certain  functions ;  and  in  the  chemistry  and 
electricity  we  have  a  physical  explanation  of  certain 
phenomena  which  take  place  tinder  the  influence  of  life, 
but  by  means  of  the  laws  which  regulate  the  world  of 
inorganic  matter. 

In  determining,  therefore,  the  position  occupied  by 
vegetable  physiology  at  the  present  time,  we  must  bear 
in  mind  that  the  portions  of  that  science  stand  logically 
in  the  following  order : — 

Nomenclature  of  organs. 

Description  of  organs. 

Mechanical  functions. . 

Chemical  and  electrical  functions. 

Of  these,  the  three  first  are  so  far  advanced,  that  al- 
though formal  improvements  may  be  expected,  yet  the 
knowledge  may,  for  the  most  part,  be  said  to  be  obtained ; 
and  the  question  that  remains  is,  rather  how  that  knowl- 
edge should  be  reduced  to  the  most  simple  and  most  con- 
venient expression.  The  fourth  is  now  occupying  the 
attention  of  many  eminent  men,  and  the  progress  already 
made  is  sufficient  to  assure  us,  not  only  that  the  right 
track  has  been  discovered,  but  that  erelong  the  chemistry 
12 


178        THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION. 

of  vegetation  will  be  so  far  advanced  as  to  form  the  in- 
strument of  investigation  into  the  chemistry  of  animal 
organization.  In  fact,  very  considerable  progress  has 
already  been  made  in  the  latter  direction. 

External  vegetable  physiology  consists  of  comparative 
nomenclature  of  all  known  plants. 

Classification  of  plants. 

Function  of  plants  in  the  terrestrial  economy. 

The  two  former  of  these  are  achieved,  although  prob- 
ably susceptible  of  formal  improvement.  The  latter  is 
undergoing  a  process  of  evolution. 

As  we  have  only  proposed  to  ourselves  to  indicate  the 
outline  of  an  argument  without  insisting  on  its  details,  we 
need  scarcely  advert  to  the  prodigious  labor  expended 
on  a  knowledge  of  the  structure  of  animal  bodies,  or  to 
the  astonishing  accuracy  with  which  some  men  have  made 
themselves  acquainted  with  anatomy,  both  human  and 
comparative.  Anatomy,  as  we  have  already  said,  is  not  a 
science — it  is  merely  the  nomenclature  and  classification 
of  the  science  of  physiology ;  and  as  such  it  would  prob- 
ably have  been  considered,  had  it  not  received  an  acci- 
dental character  from  its  connection  with  the  medical  art. 
Had  anatomy  been  studied  for  purely  scientific  purposes 
(and  not,  as  now,  for  the  purpose  of  alleviating  human 
suffering,  or  preventing  human  dissolution),  its  entire  sub- 
serviency to  what  is  termed  physiology  would  probably 
have  been  acknowledged,  and  it  would  no  more  have 
been  called  a  science  than  the  description  of  the  lines  and 
figures  of  geometry.  It  is  merely  the  description  of  the 
substantives  whose  functions  form  the  subject  of  future 
investigation. 

At  what  point,  then,  is  the  present  generation  in  its 
knowledge  of  animal  physiology  ? 

The  distinction  we  have  drawn  between  internal  and 
external  physiology,  will  enable  us  to  allocate  the  various 
portions  of  zoology.  Internal  physiology  discourses  of — 


THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION.        179 

1st,  The  constituent  organs  of  animal  bodies. 

2d,  The  conditions  of  those  organs. 

3d,  Their  function. 

And  the  science  presents  these  under  the  form  of — 

1st,  Nomenclature  and  description  of  the  organs. 

2d,  Classification  of  the  organs. 

3d,  Reasoning.  That  is,  the  syllogistic  statement  of  a 
scheme  whereby  the  actually  observed  phenomena  would, 
when  stated  in  language,  follow  logically  from  the  prem- 
ises. One  premise  being  the  expression  of  a  cause, 
force,  or  generalized  fact ;  and  the  other,  the  expression 
of  the  conditions  of  the  organs  functioning. 

It  might,  perhaps,  be  too  much  to  assert  that  the 
nomenclature,  description,  and  classification  of  the  organs 
of  animal  bodies  had  arrived  at  a  state  of  perfection ;  but 
these  branches  have  undoubtedly  arrived  at  a  state  of 
ordination  which  is  likely  to  remain  permanent,  unless, 
indeed,  a  general  revolution  of  scientific  nomenclature 
should  at  some  future  period  be  agreed  upon.  The  knowl- 
edge is  obtained  ;  and  when  we  consider  the  manner  in 
which  a  nomenclature  necessarily  grows  out  of  a  mass  of 
the  most  heterogeneous  materials,  derived  perhaps  from 
a  multitude  of  languages,  it  may  fairly  be  asserted  that 
that  knowledge  is  presented  in  as  perfect  a  form  as  could 
reasonably  have  been  expected. 

When  we  turn  to  the  functions  of  the  organs  of  animal 
bodies,  we  find  that  the  principle  of  progressive  com- 
plexity, which  we  have  assumed  as  the  basis  of  our  argu- 
ment, still  aids  us  in  allocating  the  various  portions  of 
the  same  science,  and  enables  us  to  understand  how  one 
portion  of  physiology  happens  to  evolve  chronologically 
before  another.  Thus  geometry  is  necessarily  anterior 
to  optics,  and  optics  necessarily  anterior  to  the  physiology 
of  the  eye,  both  logically  and  chronologically.  Again, 
the  general  principles  of  mechanics  must  first  be  ascer- 
tained before  an  explanation  can  be  given  of  the  action  of 


180        THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION. 

the  muscles  on  the  bones,  and  of  the  motions  that  result 
from  that  action. 

But  optics  can  explain  only  a  portion  of  the  functions 
of  the  eye.  The  eye  contains  solid  and  liquid  parts, 
which  not  only  refract  light,  but  which  have  a  chemical 
composition.  And  mechanics  can  explain  only  a  portion 
of  the  phenomena  of  muscular  action.  And  thus,  although 
the  geometry  of  vision  may  be  tolerably  perfect,  and  a 
satisfactory  explanation  is  given  of  the  result  of  muscular 
action,  there  is  a  course  of  inquiry  that  lies  beyond  both 
optics  and  mechanics,  in  which  those  sciences  can  afford 
no  information.  When  the  muscular  force  is  generated, 
and  acts  in  a  particular  direction,  its  results  may  be 
explicable  on  the  same  principles  that  apply  to  non-vital 
forces  acting  on  non-organic  portions  of  matter.  But 
according  to  what  laws  is  the  muscular  force  itself  gener- 
ated ?  And,  when  generated,  does  it  act  in  any  such  sim- 
ilar manner  to  voltaic  electricity,  as  would  enable  us  to 
conclude  that  the  motion  resulted  from  a  galvanic  power 
acting  on  nervous  chords  and  muscular  fibres,  as  they  are 
shown  to  be  disposed  by  the  scalpel  and  the  microscope  ? 

As  we  do  not  pretend,  in  the  slightest  degree  whatever, 
to  discourse  upon  science,  but  only  on  the  principles  that 
must  pervade  the  classification  of  the  sciences,  and  the 
theory  of  the  order  in  which  they  must  chronologically 
evolve,  we  need  only  refer  to  the  fact,  that  within  these 
few  years  the  dynamics  of  the  blood  and  the  chemistry 
of  the  blood  have  been  made  subjects  of  special  research, 
and  that  they  are  now  undergoing  their  process  of  evolu- 
tion and  reduction  to  scientific  ordination.* 


*  Among  other  labors,  we  may  refer  to  those  of  Magendie  on  the  dynamics 
of  the  blood,  and  to  those  of  Andral  and  Gavarret  t  on  its  chemistry.  But,  in 
addition  to  these,  we  have  only  to  turn  over  the  advertising  pages  of  the  med- 
ical journals  to  be  convinced  that  physiology  is,  as  it  were,  laboring  to  assume 
a  more  definite  and  more  satisfactory  form.  As  straws  are  said  to  indicate  the 
direction  of  the  current,  so  we  may  infer  some  notion  of  the  direction  in  which 

t  J.  L.  Gavarret,  author  of  the  "General  Principles  of  Medical  Statistics." 


THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION.         181 

The  general  principle  which  we  conceive  to  pervade  the 
evolution  of  the  various  portions  of  physiology  is  this  : — 
"  In  the  same  order  that  the  non-organic  sciences  have 
themselves  been  reduced  to  ordination,  will  they  be  ap- 
plied to  the  phenomena  of  animal  life." 

And  in  endeavoring  to  determine  the  present  position 
of  animal  physiology,  we  shall,  perhaps,  not  be  far  from 
the  truth  if  we  reckon  the  nomenclature  of  the  organs  and 
the  descriptions  of  the  organs  to  be  tolerably  complete,  the 
explanation  of  the  mechanical  functions  to  have  made  very 
considerable  progress,  and  the  chemical  and  electrical 
functions  to  be  now  attracting  a  large  share  of  the  atten- 
tion of  scientific  men. 

We  now  turn  for  a  moment  to  what  we  have  termed 
external  animal  physiology,  which  consists  of — 

Comparative  nomenclature  of  all  known  animals. 

Comparative  description  and  classification  of  animals. 

Function  of  animals  in  the  terrestrial  economy. 

And  here,  perhaps,  it  would  be  unsafe  to  assert  that 
more  has  been  achieved  than  the  nomenclature ;  for,  al- 
though there  is  no  doubt  a  classification  is  open  to  such 
serious  objections,  that  naturalists  themselves  are  be- 
ginning to  acknowledge  the  necessity  of  revising  it,  and 
constructing  it  on  principles  more  sound,  because  more  in 
accordance  with  the  great  analogies  of  nature. 

To  take  one  instance  which  will  suffice  for  our  purpose. 

If,  among  the  birds,  the  first  rank  be  accorded  to  the 
birds  of  prey  (the  eagles,  vultures,  hawks,  etc.),  and  not 
to  those  birds  in  which  the  nervous  system  is  most 
highly  developed,  and  the  manifestation  of  intelligence 
most  apparent  (the  parrots,  etc.),  why,  on  the  same  prin- 

physiological  science  is  progressing,  from  the  titles  of  the  works  that  daily  issue 
from  the  press.  Works  are  now  produced  whose  very  titles  would  have  been 
unintelligible  half  a  century  since.  Such  titles  as  "  Electro-Biology  "  are  at  all 
events  indications :  they  show  us,  however  insignificant  might  be  their  real 
merits,  that  the  human  mind  is  directing  its  efforts  towards  a  region  altogether 
unknown  to  our  ancestors. 


182         THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION. 

ciple  of  classification,  is  not  the  first  rank  among  the  mam- 
mifers  accorded  to  the  beasts  of  prey  (the  lions,  tigers, 
wolves,  etc.),  which,  among  quadrupeds,  are  the  undoubted 
representatives  or  correlatives  of  the  eagles  and  vultures? 

If  the  relative  development  of  the  nervous  system  de- 
termine the  rank  among  the  mammifers,  no  good  reason 
can  be  alleged  why  it  should  not  also  do  so  among  the 
birds;  and  there  can  be  little  doubt  that  the  anomaly 
that  now  prevails  must  give  way  to  a  more  consistent  sys- 
tem, which  shall  take  the  analogies  of  nature  as  its  basis, 
instead  of  any  fanciful  notions  about  the  nobility  of  the 
eagle. 

Were  we  to  hazard  an  opinion  on  this  head,  which  we 
can  only  do  as  looking  at  these  subjects  from  a  distance, 
we  might  express  a  conviction  that  the  principles  of  class- 
ification proposed  by  that  amiable  and  accomplished  nat- 
uralist, Dr.  Kaup  of  Darmstadt,  are  those  which  must 
ultimately  prevail. 

Human  physiology  is  the  last,  the  highest,  and  the  most 
complex  of  all  the  physical  sciences.  It  is  the  termina- 
tion of  man's  intellectual  labors,  so  far  as  regards  the 
universe  of  matter.  It  is  the  ultimatum  of  material  mani- 
festation, the  final  type  of  complex  arrangement,  the 
summit  beyond  which  we  leave  the  material  world,  and 
enter  into  a  new  region  of  thought.  Nor  is  it  merely  a 
metaphor  to  say,  that "  man  is  the  epitome  of  the  world." 
Every  science  that  precedes  human  physiology  is  neces- 
sary to  the  complete  understanding  of  the  human  frame. 
That  frame  has  parts — number  is  involved  ;  those  parts 
have  quantity  and  extent — algebra  and  geometry  are  in- 
volved; the  body  may  move  or  be  at  rest — dynamics  and 
statics  are  involved ;  the  motions  of  solids,  liquids,  and 
aeriform  fluids  are  involved ;  optics,  acoustics,  chemistry, 
electricity,  and  galvanism,  all  play  their  parts  in  elucidat- 
ing the  phenomena  of  the  wondrous  mechanism.  But, 
granting  that  human  physiology  is  the  last  and  most 


THE  THEORY  OF  I1UMAN  PROGRESSION.         183 

complex  of  all  the  physical  sciences,  has  man  no  further 
region  into  which  he  may  push  his  inquiries,  and  extend 
the  field  of  intellectual  research  ? 

Man  has  his  functions — What  are  their  laws  ? 


SECTION"    II. DETERMINATION  OF  THE  CHARACTER,  POSITION", 

AND  BOUNDARIES  OF  POLITICAL    SCIENCE. 

§  I.  General  Observations. — The  most  simple  func- 
tions of  man,  and  those  which  naturally  fall  to  be  con- 
sidered first,  are  those  in  which  he  acts  on  the  external 
world. 

First,  Man  may  act  on  the  physical  world  that  sur- 
rounds him.  These  actions,  when  sytematized,  constitute 
the  mechanical  arts,  chemical  arts,  etc.  Under  this  head 
are  assembled,  agriculture,  navigation,  manufactures, 
trade,  commerce,  systems  of  locomotion,  fisheries,  mines, 
etc. ;  in  fact,  all  those  occupations  in  which  man  is  em- 
ployed for  the  purpose  of  extracting  from  the  earth  the 
objects  he  requires,  or  of  distributing  or  transforming 
them  for  his  legitimate  remuneration. 

[Some  of  the  French  writers  have  most  appositely 
termed  this  "  1'exploitation  de  la  terre  par  1'industrie,"  in 
opposition  to  "  1'exploitation  de  1'homnie  par  1'homme." 
When  such  expressions  come  to  be  placed  in  opposition 
to  each  other,  it  needs  no  prophet  to  tell  us  that  the  pres- 
ent social  systems  must  soon  undergo  a  radical  revision.] 

Second,  Man  may  act  on  man. 

This  he  may  do  either  mediately  or  immediately.  Medi- 
ately, when,  at  the  same  time  that  he  is  engaged  in  the 
above  occupations,  he  reacts  on  his  fellow-men  through 
those  occupations,  either  to  their  benefit  or  prejudice.  Im- 
mediately, when  he  acts  on  his  fellow  men  by  constraint, 
restraint,  compulsion,  violence,  fraud,  or  defamation. 

The  principles  involved  in  man's  action  on  man,  are 


184         THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION. 

included  under  the  term  social  science  or  politics,  when 
those  terms  are  taken  in  a  general  signification. 

Social  science  is  divided  into  two  embranchments ; 
namely,  political  economy,  the  object-noun  of  which  is 
social  utility ;  and  politics  proper,  the  object-noun  of 
which  is  equity. 

The  problem  of  political  economy  is  to  discover  the 
laws  (generalized  facts)  which  preside  over  human  actions 
where  there  is  no  direct  interference  between  man  and  man. 

The  problem  of  politics  is  to  discover  the  laws  (princi- 
ples of  the  reason)  which  ought  to  preside  over  human 
actions  in  the  matter  of  interference. 

In  both  sciences  human  actions  are  the  substantives 
with  which  we  reason.  In  endeavoring  to  determine 
the  present  position  of  man  in  his  knowledge  of  political 
economy  and  politics,  we  must  premise  that  we  here 
approach  the  region  where  superstition  and  not  science 
prevails. 

Knowledge  is  credence  based  on  sufficient  evidence,  and 
superstition  is  credence  without  sufficient  evidence. 

No  truth  can  be  more  satisfactorily  established  by  his- 
tory, than  that  man  is  gradually  emerging  from  super- 
stition— gradually  emancipating  himself  from  those  un- 
founded credences  which  have,  in  every  department  of 
science,  enslaved  his  intellect  and  misdirected  "his  actions. 
It  is  too  much  the  practice,  however,  of  this  age  to  indulge 
in  self-adulation,  and  to  imagine  fondly,  that  the  light 
which  has  begun  to  dawn  has  dispelled  all  the  darkness 
from  the  atmosphere  of  knowledge.  Men  seem  to  think 
that,  because  they  can  now  look  rationally  at  the  phe- 
nomena of  nature,  they  have  read  the  whole  riddle  of  the 
universe  ;  that  they  are  the  wise  men  ;  that  superstition 
no  longer  enfolds  them ;  and  that,  from  their  high  monu- 
ment of  wisdom,  they  can  look  back  on  their  credulous 
fathers,  and  smile  complacently  in  the  vastness  of  their 
own  superiority. 


THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION.         185 

Great,  no  doubt,  has  been  the  emancipation  of  mind 
from  religious  and  natural  superstition ;  but  we  should, 
indeed,  be  sitting  down  in  contented  ignorance,  were  we 
to  imagine  that  superstition  does  not  now  enslave  us  in 
the  same  manner  that  it  enslaved  our  forefathers,  except 
that  her  domain  has  been  removed  a  little  further  onward. 
Superstition  has  retired  just  as  the  sciences  have  been 
reduced  to  ordination — just  as  they  have  emerged  from 
the  chaos,  and  been  moulded  into  form  by  the  intellect  of 
man.  In  the  very  same  order,  and  to  the  very  same  ex- 
tent, and  at  the  same  chronological  period  that  the  sciences 
have  appeared,  has  superstition  gradually  retired,  and 
taken  her  new  stand  in  those  fields  of  thought  where  the 
reason  of  mankind  had  not  yet  beheld  the  divine  light  of 
truth.  When  the  mathematical  sciences  had  made  some 
good  progress,  the  physical  sciences  were  yet  in  the  womb 
of  futurity,  and  their  place  was  occupied  by  a  series  of 
superstitions.  These  superstitions  retired,  but  retired 
only  gradually  as  science  lit  her  peaceful  lamp  in  the 
various  chambers  of  nature.  And  now  is  it  at  all  diffi- 
cult to  find  superstition?  to  point  out  the  region  she 
still  occupies  ?  to  show  where  vast  systems  of  credence 
are  as  baseless  as  the  credence  of  the  alchemist,  and  vast 
systems  of  action  are  founded  on  the  baseless  credence  ? 

The  whole  realm  of  political  science  is  as  yet  little 
better  than  a  superstition  ;  and  though  humanity  is  per- 
petually making  convulsive  throes  to  escape  from  the 
evils  entailed  by  the  erroneous  credence,  we  may  rest 
surely  convinced  that  those  evils  will  never  be  obliterated 
until  the  human  intellect  has  fairly  mastered  the  theory 
of  man's  political  relations,  and  reduced  that  theory  to 
universal  application. 

Nor  do  we  here  refer  to  any  theory  which  we  ourselves 
may  advance.  Our  views  may  be  true,  or  they  may  be 
false.  We,  of  course,  believe  them  true ;  but,  be  they 
true  or  false,  we  lay  down  the  proposition  in  the  most 


186         THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION. 

general  signification,  that  the  evils  that  afflict  the  large 
masses  of  the  population  never  can  be  obliterated  until 
man's  reason  has  mastered  the  theory  of  man's  relation 
to  man,  and  until  he  has  reduced  the  principles  of  polit- 
ical science  to  practical  realization  in  the  constitution  of 
society. 

To  observe  the  manner  in  which  men  legislate  (and 
legislators,  be  they  who  they  may,  are  only  men),  we 
should  naturally  be  led  to  the  conclusion,  that  there  was 
no  truth  and  no  falsehood  in  political  science.  How 
otherwise  can  we  explain  the  circumstance,  that  laws  are 
perpetually  undergoing  a  process  of  change  ?  A  law  en- 
acted only  a  few  years  since,  is  now  found  to  be  incorrect, 
so  bad,  in  fact,  that  it  must  be  abolished.  In  that  law, 
perhaps,  the  interests  of  millions  were  involved;  yet, 
notwithstanding,  legislators  are  allowed  to  make  these 
vast  experiments  with  the  property  and  the  liberties  of 
their  fellow-men  on  no  surer  ground  than  opinion,  which, 
in  the  great  majority  of  cases,  is  mere  presumptuous 
superstition.* 

Truth,  in  fact,  has  almost  as  little  to  do  with  legislation 
as  it  had  with  alchemy  or  astrology ;  and  this  is  the  case 
whatever  may  be  the  real  matter  of  truth.  According 
to  law  in  England,  the  Episcopalian  Church  is  the  true 
Church;  truth,  according  to  law,  is  in  the  Thirty-nine 
Articles  ;  the  bishop  is  not  only  a  churchman  but  a  legis- 
lator, a  member  of  the  supreme  parliament,  and  a  ruler 
of  the  state.  But  in  another  part  of  Britain  the  Church 
of  England  is  not  the  true  Church,  it  is  a  scandalous 
hierarchy,  because  in  the  northern  part  of  Britain  the 
Presbyterian  Church  is  the  true  Church ;  truth,  accord- 
ing to  law,  is  in  the  Confession  of  Faith  ;  and  the  bishop, 
so  far  from  even  being  entitled  to  reverence,  is  a  vile 
intruder  on  the  equal  rights  of  his  brethren.  He  would 

*  Since  the  beginning  of  the  present  century,  there  have  been  passed  between 
five  and  six  thousand  public  acts  of  parliament. 


THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION.         187 

not  be  allowed  to  address  his  fellow-Christians  from  the 
legal  pulpits  of  the  legal  Church  ;  he  is  a  "  dumbe  dogge," 
a  small  pope,  a  hireling  shepherd  ;  he  is,  in  fact,  that  in- 
carnation of  Presbyterian  abhorrence — a  prelate. 

In  Ireland  again,  (unfortunate  Ireland !)  Popery — which 
is,  root  and  branch,  totally  false  in  England  and  Scotland 
— is  partially  legally  true.  And  perhaps,  by  and  by,  it  is 
going  to  be  more  true.  Not  that  it  can  be  true  in  Eng- 
land, because  the  law  cannot  allow  that ;  but  that  it  may 
be  true  in  Ireland — or  true  enough,  at  all  events,  for  Ire- 
land— as  anything  does  for  Ireland.* 

Now,  is  it  anything  else  than  mere  superstition  that 
allows  any  legislature  whatever  to  establish  systems  of 
propositions  which  are  legally  true  in  one  part  of  the 
kingdom,  legally  false  in  another  ?  Whatever  is  true,  it 
is  quite  evident  that  truth  did  not  preside  at  the  legisla- 
tion, that  truth  was  not  the  basis,  the  ground,  the  reason 
of  the  legislation.  But  if  truth  did  not  preside  at  the 
legislation,  what  did  preside  ?— Superstition. 

Again,  God  gave  the  earth  to  the  children  of  men.  Now, 
is  it  true  that  the  gift  of  a  king  (a  man,  with  a  different 
name)  is  a  good  title  to  as  much  land  as  would  support  a 
thousand  families  ;  that  the  legislature  (other  men)  should 
enact  a  law  to  secure  that  land  in  perpetuity  to  the  de- 
scendants of  the  person  who  received  the  gift ;  that  this 
person  and  his  heirs  should  be  called  proprietors  of  that 
land,  and  should,  by  the  law,  be  treated  as  such ;  that 
from  that  portion  of  the  earth's  surface  all  other  persons 
are  excluded  by  the  law,  save  only  those  who  have  the 
permission  of  the  proprietor  ;  that  this  proprietor  may  be 
always  absent  from  that  land,  and  yet  that  he  is  to  receive 
from  the  cultivators  of  the  land  the  rent — that  is,  the 

*  "  The  quantity  of  specie  coined  in  the  reign  of  James  I.  was  about  £5,432,- 
000 ;  of  which  £3,666,000  was  in  gold,  and  £1,765,000  in  silver.  It  still  continued 
the  practice  to  issue  some  base  money  for  the  use  of  Ireland."— Wade,  p.  173. 
Yes,  truly,  and  it  has  long  continued  the  practice  to  issue  base  money  for  the 
use  of  Ireland. 


188         THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PHOGRESSION. 

profit  that  God  lias  graciously  been  pleased  to  accord  to  hu- 
man industry  employed  in  the  cultivation  of  the  soil  ?  Is 
this  true,  or  is  it  only  a  mere  groundless  superstition  that 
lies  at  the  bottom  of  nine-tenths  of  the  evils  of  society. 
It  cannot  be  right,  unless  there  is  a  principle  of  truth  on 
which  the  system  is  based ;  yet  where,  either  in  the  study 
of  external  nature,  or  of  man,  or  of  revelation,  can  we 
find  true  propositions  on  which  to  base  so  iniquitous  a 
system  ? 

Again,  is  it  true  that  a  deliberative  assembly,  chosen  by 
a  small  part  of  the  population,  has  a  right  (in  morals,  or 
religion,  or  any  other  measure  of  right  and  wrong)  to 
determine  that  the  legislators  of  the  country  shall  be 
chosen  by  certain  individuals,  whose  number,  at  the  utmost, 
does  not  amount  to  more  than  one-fourth  of  the  adult  male 
population  of  the  country  ?  Is  it  true  that  this  delibera- 
tive assembly  has  an  equitable  right  to  prevent  the  other 
three-fourths  of  the  adult  male  population  from  having 
any  voice  in  the  election  of  those  who  are  to  tax  their 
labor?  Is  it  true  that  those  three-fourths  of  the  adult 
male  population  are,  in  any  way  whatever,  morally  bound 
to  obey  a  deliberative  assembly  chosen  and  elected  in  this 
manner?  Is  this  true,  or  is  it  only  a  portion  of  that  more 
general  superstition  which  once  pervaded  all  the  physical 
sciences,  but  which  has  now  been  driven  before  the  advance 
of  knowledge,  and  obliged  to  take  refuge  in  the  regions  of 
politics  and  religion  ? 

Again,  the  present  age  is  one  in  which  we  hear  much 
of  a  "  surplus  population,"  a  "  redundant  population,"  etc., 
while  it  seems  to  be  forgotten  that  the  man  wrho  can  earn 
his  daily  bread  can  never  be  redundant,  while  the  man 
who  consumes  vast  revenues  without  working  for  them, 
must  necessarily  be  so.  This  redundant  population,  find- 
ing the  difficulties  and  miseries  of  a  residence  in  their 
native  country  more  painful  than  even  expatriation  and  re- 
moval to  another  hemisphere,  begin  to  emigrate  to  Aus- 


THE  THEORY  OP  HUMAN  PROGRESSION.        189 

tralia.  A  Solon  of  a  political  economist  theorizing  on  the 
terms  labor,  capital,  supply,  demand,  etc.,  arrives  at  the 
conclusion  that  one  square  mile  of  the  earth's  surface  is  the 
exact  quantity  that  should  be  sold  to  the  emigrant,  and 
that  the  best  of  all  possible  prices  for  that  land  is  exactly 
one  pound  sterling  per  English  statute  acre.  The  gover- 
nors of  this  country,  convinced  of  their  own  ignorance, 
and  happy  to  listen  to  a  man  who  can  discourse  fluently 
on  such  mysterious  matters  as  labor  and  capital,  determine 
to  apply  the  magic  formula  ;  and  thenceforth  no  man  who 
cannot  purchase  one  square  mile  of  land  at  one  pound  per 
English  statute  acre,  is  allowed  to  settle  down  and  earn 
his  livelihood  in  one  vast  district  of  the  southern  hemi- 
sphere. Is  it  true,  or  is  it  false,  that  a  few  men  in  Eng- 
land have  the  right  to  impose  such  a  restriction  on  the 
liberties  of  mankind  ?  Is  any  other  evidence  required  than 
that  furnished  by  the  Wakefield  system,  that  political 
economy,  in  its  practical  application,  is  at  present  only  a 
superstition, — a  mere  tissue  of  the  most  arbitrary  and 
groundless  propositions,  not  one  iota  better  than  the 
propositions  of  judicial  astrology. 

Again,  the  legislators  of  Britain  (who  at  that  period 
represented  a  very  small  fragment  of  the  population) 
enacted  laws  against  the  supply  of  food  from  foreign 
countries.  Millions  of  pounds  sterling  were  involved  in 
the  operation  of  the  laws,  and  millions  of  persons  were 
affected  in  the  price  of  their  daily  food.  Some  years  later 
the  population  discovered  the  effect  of  the  enactments, 
and  the  governors  were  obliged  to  abolish  them,  because 
the  masses  would  no  longer  tolerate  their  existence.  Now, 
is  it  true  or  false  that  any  men,  call  them  what  you  will, 
have  the  right  to  make  these  vast  experiments  ?  Are  not 
these  cases,  and  many  others,  exactly  similar  to  the  cases  in 
which  rulers  have  attempted  to  make  a  true  or  a  false 
theology ;  a  true  or  a  false  system  of  astronomy ;  or  a 
true  or  a  false  system  of  nature,  when  they  persecuted 


190         THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION. 

sorcerers,  and  devoted  the  victim  to  the  fagot  and  the 
flames  ? 

Again,  what  is  the  whole  system  of  criminal  legislation 
now  carried  into  force  in  Great  Britain  ?  What  is  it  but 
a  great  superstition,  an  arbitrary  superstition,  where 
there  is  no  regulative  principle  for  the  intellect  to  rest 
upon  ?  Why  should  one  criminal  be  fined,  another  im- 
prisoned, another  transported,  and  another  hanged  ?  Is 
there  any  connection,  either  inductive  or  deductive,  be- 
tween the  crimes  and  the  punishments  ?  Is  the  allocation 
of  the  punishment  based  upon  any  principle  that  connects 
just  such  a  kind,  and  such  a  quantity,  with  the  offence? 
Is  not  the  selection  of  the  punishment  arbitrary ;  that  is, 
dependent,  not  on  any  principle  discoverable  in  nature, 
but  dependent  on  vague  and  groundless  opinion — that  is, 
superstition  ? 

Crimes  are  the  maladies  of  society,  and  punishments 
are  the  medicines  which  laws  administer  for  their  correc- 
tion. Now,  are  the  recipes  at  present  in  use  in  politics 
one  atom  less  arbitrary,  less  superstitious,  or  less  absurd, 
than  were  the  recipes  of  medicine  two  hundred  years  since  ? 
Could  we  see  things  present  in  the  same  light  that  we  see 
things  past,  we  should  regard  the  affected  wisdom  of 
legislators  and  lawyers  with  the  same  ridicule  and  con- 
tempt so  lavishly  bestowed  on  the  quacks,  diviners,  and 
necromancers  of  a  former  age.  Where  there  is  no  truth 
to  rest  upon,  there  can  only  be  error  or  superstition. 

§  II.  The  Province  and  Position  of  Political  E<-<>ix>nnj. 
—Entering  our  protest,  therefore,  that  the  regions  of 
political  economy  and  politics  are  at  present  pervaded  by 
endless  superstitions,  we  shall  endeavor  to  point  out  the 
position  of  the  present  generation  in  its  attempts  to  evolve 
those  sciences. 

First,  The  object  noun  of  political  economy  has  been 
ascertained,  and  definitions  have  been  attempted  of  the 


THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION.         191 

substantives  of  the  science ;  that  is,  attempts  have  been 
made  to  describe  and  classify  the  objects  with  which  men 
must  reason  when  they  reason  in  political  economy. 

Second,  Large  masses  of  facts  have  been  collected  re- 
lating to  a  variety  of  subjects.  These  have  been  collected 
with  more  or  less  accuracy,  and  arranged  with  more  or 
less  judgment.  In  some  cases,  tabulated  forms  have 
been  produced  which  leave  little  or  nothing  to  be  desired 
on  the  score  of  accuracy,  purity,*  and  facility  of  manipu- 
lation. In  other  cases  immense  records  of  facts  have 
been  accumulated,  of  so  heterogeneous  a  character,  or  in- 
volving so  many  separate  considerations,  that  conclusions 
altogether  incompatible  with  each  other  are  drawn  from 
them  to  serve  the  purposes  of  the  political  reasoners. 

Third,  In  some  cases  the  aid  of  mathematics  has  been 
called  in  to  methodize  the  facts,  and  to  determine  the 
general  value  of  the  inferences  that  we  are  entitled  to 
draw  from  them. 

1st.  Of  the  object-noun  of  political  economy. 

Every  proper  science  has  an  object-noun,  and  the  ex- 
clusive end  and  intention  of  the  science  is  to  discover  and 
reduce  to  logical  order  the  relations  that  exist  between 
the  substantives  of  the  science  in  that  object-noun.  Thus, 
arithmetic  treats  of  relations  in  number  ;  geometry,  of  re- 
lations in  space  (position,  direction,  and  extent);  dynam- 
ics, of  relations  hi  force,  etc. 

Political  economy  then  treats  of  relations  in  social 
utility,  and  we  ask,  "  What  are  the  relations  of  this,  that, 
and  the  other  action,  or  system  of  action,  in  social 
utility?"  The  answer  to  this  question  belongs  ex- 
clusively to  the  science  of  political  economy.  [The  same 
action  may  be  judged  in  social  utility,  or  in  equity ;  in 
the  former  case  we  are  engaged  with  a  question  of  polit- 
ical economy ;  in  the  latter,  with  a  question  of  politics. 

*  By  purity,  we  mean  that  the  facts  are  strictly  comparable  ;  that  improper 
fat-ts  have  been  left  out. 


192        THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION. 

Endless  ambiguities  and  discussions  arise  from  confound- 
ing the  one  science  with  the  other. 

2d.  We  now  ask,  "  With  what  do  we  reason  ?  what  are 
the  substantives  of  the  science  ?  " 

Political  economy  is  entirely  and  exclusively  convers- 
ant with  human  actions. 

We  reason  with  human  actions  in  social  utility.  Social 
utility  is  the  object-noun  of  the  science,  and  the  forms  of 
human  action  are  the  subject- nouns,  which  are  to  be 
named,  classed,  and  reasoned  with.* 

Wherever  human  action  is  not  involved,  there  is  no 
political  economy.  Whatever  results  from  the  general 
action  of  the  laws  of  the  non-human  universe,  does  not 
belong  to  political  economy.  The  goodness  or  badness  of 
a  climate,  the  fertility  or  non-fertility  of  the  soil,  the 
existence  of  coal,  iron,  or  other  minerals — these  in  no  re- 
spect whatever  enter  the  science  of  political  economy, 
except  just  in  so  far  as  they  are  affected  by  human  action. 
The  fertility  of  the  soil  produced  by  human  industry,  the 
production  of  iron,  the  cultivation,  manufacture,  and  com- 
merce of  cotton,  wheat,  tea,  sugar,  sheep,  cattle,  wool, 
etc.,  etc. — all  these  enter  into  political  economy,  because 
they  represent  certain  forms  of  human  action,  which  have 
an  appreciable  value  in  social  utility. 

*  Thus,  the  cultivation  of  the  earth  is  a  form  of  human  action,  trading  is  a 
form  of  human  action,  restrictive  laws  and  prohibitory  laws,  when  carried  into 
execution,  are  forms  of  human  action.  These  forms  have  to  be  classified  ;  and 
science  is  achieved  when  the  classified  forms  are  made  to  function  in  a  rational 
scheme, — that  is,  when  the  premises  expressed  in  language  will  produce,  logi- 
cally, such  consequents  as  are  actually  observed  to  take  place  in  the  real 
world. 

In  the  external  world  we  observe  antecedence,  coincidence,  and  subsequence 
(or  antecedent  events,  coincident  events,  and  subsequent  events) ;  but  the 
mind  alone  furnishes  the  idea  of  consequence  (causation),  and,  as  the  stream  of 
time  rolls  on,  with  the  whole  functions  of  nature  going  on  coincidently,  we  re- 
quire to  observe  what  antecedents  are  invariably  followed  (and  in  all  circum- 
stances) by  certain  subsequents,  and  thus  to  arrive  at  particular  causes  and 
particular  effects.  For  this,  the  classification  of  events  is  requisite,  and  when 
they  are  arranged  into  species  and  genera,  they  become  capable  of  function- 
ing in  a  logical  scheme,  which  scheme  constitutes  science. 


THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION.         193 

The  destruction  of  all  the  sheep,  for  instance,  and  all 
the  people  in  a  highland  district,  by  a  storm  or  by  a  dread- 
ful convulsion  of  the  elements,  would  in  no  respect  enter 
into  the  science  of  political  economy.  But  the  abolition 
of  the  sheep,  and  the  abolition  of  the  population,  by  the 
so-called  proprietor,  under  the  sanction  of  British  law, 
and  the  conversion  of  the  district  into  a  game  desert,  does 
enter  into  political  economy  ;  and  when  we  ask  the  ques- 
tions, "  Is  this  act  socially  beneficial  or  prejudicial  ? " 
and,  "  Are  the  laws  that  grant  a  legal  power  to  perform 
such  acts  by  force,  socially  beneficial  or  prejudicial?" 
we  reason  in  political  economy. 

These  same  acts  and  laws  may  also  be,  judged  of  in 
equity ;  but  in  that  case  we  have  passed  from  political 
economy  to  true  politics. 

Political  economy,  then,  is  the  science  that  treats  of 
human  function.  Where  human  function  is  not  involved, 
we  are  not  engaged  with  political  economy.  But  then 
there  is  a  limitation  on  the  other  hand.  Political  economy 
is  a  non-moral  science,  and  in  no  case  can  be  allowed  to 
pronounce  a  moral  judgment.  All  that  it  can  ever  tell 
us  is,  whether  certain  actions  or  systems  of  action  are 
beneficial,  indifferent,  or  prejudicial ;  and  when  the  terms 
right  and  wrong  (adjectives),  ought,  etc.,  are  employed 
they  are  used  to  indicate  correctness  or  incorrectness  in 
social  utility. 

Acts  of  interference,  whether  by  law,  or  merely  by  the 
individual,  belong  properly  to  the  science  of  politics,  but 
they  may  also  be  legitimately  judged  of  through  the  me- 
dium of  political  economy.  In  the  one  mode,  however, 
we  reason  synthetically  as  in  geometry,  in  the  other  mode 
we  reason  empirically,  as  if  we  were  to  infer  the  general 
properties  of  figures  from  an  induction  of  the  actual  prop- 
erties presented  by  an  indefinite  multitude  of  individual 
figures.  The  practical  difference  is  this.  By  treating  a 
question  of  interference  by  the  rules  of  equity,  we  arrive 


194          THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION. 

at  once  at  a  conclusion ;  whereas,  when  it  is  treated  by 
the  rules  of  utility,  it  may  require  many  years,  many  ob- 
servations, and  many  disputations  as  to  facts,  before  a 
conclusion  can  be  drawn.  The  equity  of  the  slave  trade 
is  a  question  so  simple,  that  few  intelligent  men  could 
fail  to  settle  it  satisfactorily  in  a  few  minutes ;  but  the 
economy  of  the  trade  would  require,  and  did  require, 
many  years  to  settle  it,  and  even  now  there  are  not  want- 
ing hundreds  who,  on  economical  principles,  would  defend 
both  the  trade  and  the  condition  of  slavery.  Although 
perfect  knowledge  in  both  sciences  would,  no  doubt,  lead 
to  exactly  the  same  practical  conclusion,  the  argument  of 
economy  is  sometimes  set  up  against  the  argument  of 
equity.  The  concise  reply  to  such  a  mode  of  proceeding 
is  this,  "  If  equity  have  any  existence  at  all,  its  rules  are 
necessarily  imperative."  Deny  the  imperative  nature  of 
equity  and  you  obliterate  all  morals.* 

Now,  where  there  is  no  interference  between  man  and 
man,  no  judgment  in  equity  can  possibly  be  pronounced. 
Where  there  is  no  interference  (and  nothing  that  enters 
religion)  economy  gives  the  canon,  she  holds  the  balance, 
and  pronounces  judgment  because  the  question  belongs  to 
the  jurisdiction  of  her  court.  But  where  there  is  inter- 
ference we  can  have  a  judgment  in  equity  ;  and  where  we 
can  have  a  judgment  in  equity,  no  economical  considera- 
tions whatever  (even  if  it  were  not  true  that  the  just  co- 
incides with  the  beneficial)  can  ever  relieve  man  from  the 
imperative  obligation.  The  moment  it  was  admitted  that 
economical  considerations  should  outweigh  the  judgment 
in  equity,  that  moment  is  man's  moral  nature  obliterated, 
and  he  becomes  an  animal  a  little  superior  to  the  ourang- 
outang. 

*  It  is  true,  however,  that  the  argument  of  economy  has  a  far  more  powerful 
influence  on  the  world  than  the  argument  of  equity.  Men  are  not  satisfied 
with  the  logical  determination  of  right  and  wrong  :  they  must  have  a  picture 
as  well  as  a  specification  ;  they  must  have  the  evils  portrayed  in  all  their  ma- 
lignity before  they  resolutely  determine  to  amend  them. 


THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION.         195 

We  now  turn  to  the  mode  in  which  political  economy 
is  usually  presented.  Utility  is,  no  doubt,  the  object  of 
investigation  ;  but  what  is  its  measure,  what  is  its  crite- 
rion, what  are  the  marks  by  which  we  know  an  action  to 
be  beneficial  or  prejudicial  ? 

According  to  some  writers,  we  should  imagine  that 
utility  was  measured  according  to  the  wealth  produced. 
Value,  labor,  capital,  wages,  profit,  rent,  etc.,  are  the  sub- 
stantives of  their  science ;  and  the  production  of  wealth 
appears  to  be  the  end,  the  sum  and  substance,  the  object 
of  their  desires. 

We  deny,  from  beginning  to  end,  this  view  of  political 
economy.  It  has  some  truth  in  it — the  beginnings  of 
truth  ;  but  such,  in  the  general,  is  no  more  the  end  of  po- 
litical economy  than  the  determination  of  the  chances  in 
gambling  was  the  end  of  the  calculation  of  probabilities. 

We  assert — and  we  have  no  doubt  whatever  that  this 
view  will  ultimately  obtain  the  suffrages  of  all — that  the 
welfare  of  man  is  the  end  of  political  economy. 

To  this  it  may  be  replied,  that  the  production  of  wealth 
is  the  means ;  and  that  all  economics  intend  to  include  the 
welfare  of  man  as  a  matter  of  course. 

We  deny  the  whole  theory  from  beginning  to  end. 

We  assert  that  the  production  of  man,  and  man  in  a 
continually  higher  condition,  is  the  object,  the  end,  the 
ultimatum  of  the  science. 

Let  us  suppose  that  one  thousand  families  were  em- 
ployed in  the  cultivation  of  one  hundred  thousand  acres 
of  land  ;  that  they  lived,  maintained  themselves  in  decent 
plenty,  reared  their  families  in  health,  industry,  honesty, 
and  those  manly  qualities  which,  among  the  agricultural 
population  of  Great  Britain,  have  assumed  a  higher  char- 
acter than  in  any  other  portion  of  the  earth's  inhabitants. 
Suppose  that  this  population  produce  only  as  much  as 
suffices  for  the  plentiful  support  of  all  the  individuals. 
Good.  There  is  not,  on  the  average  of  twenty  years, 


196        THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION. 

any  superabundance  that  can  be  called  accumulated 
profit. 

This  population,  according  to  some  political  economists, 
would  be  a  most  unproductive,  most  useless  portion  of 
society.* 

We  deny  the  fact.  This  population  has  reared  and 
produced  men. 

Suppose,  again,  the  great  body  of  this  population  should 
be  set  to  spin  cotton,  smelt  iron,  grind  cutlery,  and  weave 

*  "  In  1709,  an  application  was  made  to  Parliament  for  an  act  to  divide  and 
inclose  the  common  fields  and  wastes  belonging  to  the  parish  of  Ropley.  This 
served  as  an  encouragement  and  example  ;  and  applications  of  the  same  kind 
became  annually  more  frequent.  It  appears  that,  since  that  period,  very  nearly 
four  thousand  bills  of  inclosure  have  been  passed  ;  and  it  is  also  well  known 
that,  in  numerous  instances,  the  same  end  has  been  reached  without  legislative 
interference,  by  private  agreement  among  the  parties  interested.  In  a  word, 
we  have  scarcely  a  doubt  that  about  five  thousand  parishes  (a  moiety  of  the 
whole  territory  of  England)  have  been  subjected  to  the  operation  of  these 
measures  in  the  space  of  about  one  hundred  and  twenty  years  ;  and  as  little 
(however  beneficial  the  division  and  consequent  improvement  of  this  vast  ter- 
ritory may  have  proved  to  the  owners,  and  to  some  other  classes)  that  the 
change  has  been  a  woful  one  for  our  peasantry.  We  believe  that  the  final  ex- 
tinction of  the  class  of  small  occupiers  and  crofters  has,  in  almost  every  in- 
stance, followed  the  division  of  common-field  parishes.  Several  small  farms 
have  been  consolidated  into  one  ;  and  the  little  farmer  has  been  either  meta- 
morphosed into  a  cotton-spinner,  or,  continuing  perhaps  to  occupy  his  old 
farmhouse  without  any  land  attached  to  it,  lingers  as  a  day-laborer  on  the  soil 
which  he  once  rented.  Similar  in  character  has  been  the  effect  of  this  change 
upon  the  condition  of  the  cottager.  Before  the  division  and  inclosure  of  the 
district,  every  cottager  possessed  a  common  right  of  some  extent — a  right,  for 
instance,  to  turn  out  a  cow,  a  pig,  a  few  sheep  and  geese,  upon  the  wastes  of 
the  parish  :  most  of  them  were  in  possession  of  small  crofts,  which  supplied  the 
cow  with  winter  fodder ;  where  this  did  not  happen  to  be  the  case,  the  cottager 
either  purchased  hay  for  her  keep,  or  paid  for  her  run  in  the  straw-yard  of 
some  neighboring  farmer.  Hence  it  is  clear  that,  under  the  above  system,  not 
only  the  little  farmer,  but  also  the  humblest  cottager,  drew  a  very  considerable 
portion  of  his  subsistence  directly  from  the  land.  His  cow  furnished  him  with 
what  is  invaluable  to  a  laborer— a  store  of  milk  in  the  summer  months  ;  his 
pig,  fattened  upon  the  common  and  with  the  refuse  vegetables  of  his  garden, 
supplied  him  with  bacon  for  his  winter  consumption  ;  and  there  were  poultry 
besides.  It  has  been  very  much  the  fashion  to  decry  the  advantages  which  ac- 
crued from  the  enjoyment  of  common-rights ;  but  to  him  who  has,  and  who 
fortunately  wants  but  little,  a  trifle  is  of  importance.  This  trifle  amounted, 
probably,  to  half  the  subsistence  of  the  man's  family. 

'  And  buirdly  chields  and  clever  hizzies 
Were  bred  in  sic  a  way  as  this  is.'  " 

— Quart  Rev.,  July  1889. 


THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION.         197 

stockings.  That  at  these  occupations,  by  incessant  toil, 
they  should  produce  not  only  as  much  as  support  them, 
but  one-half  more.  According  to  political  economists, 
these  occupations  would  be  incomparably  more  profitable 
than  the  agricultural  occupations,  and  consequently  much 
better  for  society. 

We  deny  the  fact,  and  scout  the  inference.  The  pro- 
duction of  man,  and  of  man  in  his  best  condition,  is  the 
physical  ultimatum  of  the  earth  ;  and  any  system  whatever 
that  sacrifices  the  workman  to  the  work — the  man  who 
produces  the  wealth  to  the  wealth  produced — is  a  mon- 
strous system  of  misdirected  intention,  based  on  a  blas- 
phemy against  man's  spiritual  nature. 

The  whole  system  of  modern  manufacture,  with  its  fac- 
tory slavery ;  its  gaunt  and  sallow  faces  ;  its  'half-clad 
hunger  ;  its  female  degradation ;  its  abortions  and  rickety 
children ;  its  dens  of  pestilence  and  abomination  ;  its 
ignorance,  brutality,  and  drunkenness ;  its  vice,  in  all  the 
hideous  forms  of  infidelity,  hopeless  povert}f,  and  mad 
despair, — these,  and,  if  it  were  possible,  worse  than  these, 
are  the  sure  fruits  of  making  man  the  workman  of  mam- 
mon, instead  of  making  wealth  the  servant  of  humanity 
for  the  relief  of  man's  estate. 

The  day  is  not  far  distant  when  the  Labor  of  England 
will  hold  her  court  of  justice ;  let  those  who  may,  await 
the  sentence  of  the  tribunal. 

That  system  of  political  economy  which  makes  wealth, 
and  not  man,  the  ultimatum,  is  based  on  a  monstrous 
fallacy — on  a  fallacy  so  slavish  and  so  detestable,  that  the 
wonder  is  how  accomplished  and  personally  amiable  men 
can  be  found  as  its  abettors. 

The  fallacy  is,  in  taking  the  rents  of  the  landlords,  and 
the  profits  of  the  capitalists,  as  the  measures  of  good  and 
evil,  instead  of  taking  the  condition  of  the  cultivators,  and 
the  condition  of  the  laborers  (the  many),  as  the  sure  index 
of  the  character  of  a  system. 


1  98         THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PEOGEESSION. 

Whatever  tends  to  debase  man,  to  make  him  physically, 
intellectually,  or  morally  a  lower  being,  is  bad,  however 
much  or  however  little  the  wealth  produced  may  be.* 
The  wealth  is  not  the  stable  element ;  it  is  an  accidental, 
and  by  no  means  the  most  important  adjunct.  Man  is  the 
stable  element.  His  condition  is  the  standard;  his  im- 
provement is  a  good ;  his  deterioration  is  an  evil.  And 
this,  independently  of  all  other  considerations.  All  other 
considerations  are  secondary,  dependent,  subsidiary  to 
the  great  intention.  Man  is  not  useful  as  be  produces 
wealth,  but  wealth  is  useful  as  it  sustains  man,  amelior- 
ates his  condition,  improves  his  capacities,  gives  oppor- 
tunities for  his  further  cultivation,  and  aids  his  progress 
in  the  great  scheme  of  human  regeneration. 

Such  views,  then,  of  political  economy  as  make  wealth 
the  ultimatum  (and  this  wealth,  be  it  always  remembered, 
is  the  wealth  of  the  land-owner,  the  mill-owner,  the  iron- 
master, etc.,  and  not  the  wealth  of  the  multitude  of  human 
laborers),  are  merely  the  beginnings  of  the  science  of 
political  economy.  This  science,  like  every  other,  must 
pass  through  its  stages ;  it  must  have  its  errors,  its 

*  The  distribution  of  wealth  is  a  question  of  incomparably  more  importance 
than  even  its  production.  This  appears  a  paradox.  It  is  not  so,  however. 
Place  man  on  the  earth,  and  it  is  his  nature  to  produce  wealth.  Hunger  and 
want  will  impel  him  ;  and  as  his  intellect  becomes  more  and  more  enlightened, 
and  his  ingenuity  becomes  greater  under  the  influence  of  the  enlightened 
intellect,  his  arrangements  will  be  more  complex,  more  far-sighted,  more  inde- 
pendent of  any  sudden  shocks  or  derangements  that  might  accrue  from  ac- 
cident. Great  advantage,  of  course,  attends  the  study  of  the  best  mode  of  pro- 
ducing wealth.  In  the  distribution,  however,  another  circumstance  has  to  be 
taken  into  consideration.  All  history  proves  man  to  be  a  fallen  creature.  No 
theory  of  human  nature  can  stand  for  a  moment,  that  does  not  admit  man's 
fallen  condition.  Such  theories  invariably  lead  to  endless  contradictions,  be- 
cause they  cannot  explain  the  facts  and  phases  of  human  manifestation.  Now 
man,  as  a  fallen  creature,  though  necessarily  impelled  to  produce  wealth, 
more  or  less,  is  also  tempted  to  commit  injustice.  The  strong  individual  appro- 
priates more  than  his  equitable  share  at  the  expense  of  the  weak  individual ; 
and  all  privileged  classes  are  merely  classes  of  individuals  who  have  obtained 
more  land,  or  more  power,  or  more  license  than  equitably  could  have  been  as- 
signed to  them.  The  laws  of  distribution  are  of  incomparably  more  practical 
importance  than  the  laws  of  production,  and  the  public  mind  will  not  allow 
many  years  to  elapse  without  bringing  them  to  vehement  discussion. 


THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION.         199 

superstitions,  its  partial  truths,  its  truths  misunderstood, 
before  it  comes  forth  as  a  system  over  which  man  has  no 
power  of  control,  but  which  he  must  contemplate  as  a 
system  of  truth  designed  by  the  Creator  of  the  world  for 
the  instruction  of  his  intellect,  and  the  improvement  of 
his  condition. 

Political  economy  is  now  struggling  to  assume  a  posi- 
tion among  the  sciences.  It  is  daily  growing,  daily 
assuming  a  more  definite  form,  and  daily  shaking  off 
those  questions  that  do  not  belong  to  it,  although  so  inti- 
mately allied  with  it  that  they  are  sure  to  occur,  over  and 
over  again,  to  its  cultivators. 

That  it  is  a  science  in  the  same  sense  in  which  chem- 
istry is  a  science,  no  person  can  for  a  moment  maintain. 
But  so  much  has  already  been  done,  that  any  day  might 
see  it  transformed  by  the  hand  of  some  master,  and  pre- 
sented to  the  world  in  the  aspect  of  a  teachable  branch  of 
knowledge,  capable  of  application  to  the  great  problems 
of  legislation. 

At  the  same  time  we  must  remark,  that  the  natural 
science  of  political  economy  has  labored  under  the  im- 
mense disadvantage  of  collecting  facts  which  were  not  the 
result  of  nature's  operations,  but  which  were,  in  a  great 
measure,  the  result  of  human  legislation,  which  varied 
from  time  to  time,  and  from  country  to  country.  The 
statistics  of  the  corn-trade,  for  instance,  and  consequently 
the  statistics  of  the  price  of  corn  throughout  Britain,  were 
encumbered  with  sliding  scales,  fixed  duties,  and  all  the 
other  concomitants  which  the  aristocratic  rulers  of  the 
country  have  invented  for  the  purpose  of  taxing  labor 
instead  of  land.  Now,  nature  has  no  sliding  scales  to-day, 
and  fixed  duties  to-morrow.  She  acts  harmoniously ;  and 
the  study  of  her  facts  is  not  disturbed  by  the  considera- 
tion of  causes  which  may  vary  indefinitely.  Had  matter 
gravitated  towards  matter  according  to  a  sliding  scale  at 
one  period,  and  according  to  a  fixed  scale  at  another,  and 


200        THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION. 

according  to  no  scale  at  all  at  a  third,  it  is  at  all  events 
questionable  whether  even  Newton  would  have  been  able 
to  unravel  the  intricacy  of  her  laws.  Consequently  we 
must  regard  the  labors  of  political  economists  with 
lenity,  nor  must  we  demand  from  them  the  same  unity  of 
credence  which  we  expect  from  the  chemist,  the  anato- 
mist, or  the  physiologist,  because  a  disturbing  force  of 
variable  character  has  interfered  with  the  objects  of  their 
investigation.  At  a  future  period,  there  can  be  no  doubt 
that  political  economy  will  assume  exactly  the  same  form 
and  ordination  as  the  other  sciences,  and  that  the  econo- 
mist will,  to  a  great  extent,  drive  from  the  field  both  the 
demagogue  and  the  legislator  who  makes  laws  on  opinion. 

Before  leaving  the  subject  of  political  economy,  how- 
ever, we  have  one  remark  to  offer.  God  has  given  to 
man,  and  to  the  world,  a  certain  constitution.  By  the 
laws  which  God  has  established  for  the  government  of 
the  world,  certain  consequences  follow  certain  antecedents. 
All  human  laws  whatever  are  attempts  to  alter  the  natural, 
arrangement,  and  to  substitute  some  other  consequent, 
which,  according  to  the  ordinary  course  of  nature,  would 
not  have  followed.  It  is  therefore  evident  that  man,  in 
making  laws,  must  have  the  most  clear  and  perfectly  just- 
ifying reason  for  so  doing ;  or  otherwise  he  is  attempting  to 
controvert  the  arrangements  of  the  Almighty,  and  to  sub- 
stitute human  arrangements  for  those  that  are  divine. 
Many  of  the  evils  of  society  are  mainly  to  be  traced  to  the 
disturbing  influence  which  human  laws  have  exercised  on 
the  natural  arrangements  of  Providence. 

On  the  conveyance  of  the  productions  of  one  country 
to  another,  for  instance,  God  has  placed  certain  restric- 
tions. Distance  must  be  overcome,  storms  must  be  en- 
countered, arid  risks  of  various  "kinds  must  be  incurred. 
Suppose  that  the  whole  of  the  natural  risks  amount 
to  one-fifth  of  the  cost  price  of  the  articles.  [God,  in 
giving  man  ingenuity,  has  given  him  a  power,  not  of  dimin- 


THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION.         201 

ishing  distance  or  abolishing  storms,  but  of  continually 
improving  the  means  of  transport,  and  thereby  diminish- 
ing the  natural  risk.  But  let  us  suppose  that,  at  a  given 
period,  the  risk  did  amount  to  a  fifth  of  the  cost  price  of 
the  article.] 

Now,  what  has  man  done  ?  Has  he  accepted  the  con- 
ditions under  which  God  allowed  him  to  exercise  his 
ingenuity?  Has  he  thankfully  taken  the  good,  and 
endeavored  to  diminish  its  cost  as  much  as  the  circum- 
stances of  the  earth  allow?  Or  has  he,  on  the  contrary, 
taken  the  conditions  such  as  they  were  presented  in 
nature,  and  vastly  increased  that  part  of  the  liability 
which  it  was  man's  constant  interest  to  diminish  ?  Ac- 
cording to  the  laws  of  nature  (or  of  God,  the  author  of 
nature),  the  condition  annexed  to  the  supply  of  the  for- 
eign goods  was  the  payment  of  one-fifth  of  the  cost;  but 
man,  by  restrictive  laws,  customs,  duties,  etc.,  increases 
the  cost  of  supply  to  two-fifths,  or  a  half,  or  a  whole,  or 
perhaps  double,  the  cost  price  of  the  articles. 

We  are  fully  aware  that  to  many  this  mode  of  viewing 
restrictive  laws  will  appear,  at  all  events,  irrelevant ;  at 
the  same  time,  there  can  be  little  doubt  that,  so  long  as 
restrictive  laws  of  this  character  are  allowed  to  exist,  man 
must  suffer.  We  do  not  say  that  the  persons  who  make 
the  laws  will  suffer,  that  they  will  be  poorer,  or  that  they 
will  reap  the  inconvenience  of  the  arrangements.  Their 
pecuniary  interests  are  often  diametrically  opposed  to  the 
welfare  of  the  great  body  of  the  population.  But  so  long 
as  any  legislators  whatever  are  allowed  to  originate  re- 
strictions, and  thereby  vastly  to  increase  the  cost  of  those 
natural  productions  which  the  population  requires,  the  great 
body  of  the  inhabitants  of  a  country  must  be  in  a  worse 
condition  than  Providence  intended ;  in  a  worse  condition 
than  they  would  have  been  had  there  been  no  such  laws, 
and  in  a  worse  condition  than  they  would  have  been 
had  the  arrangements  of  nature  been  left  to  themselves, 


202         THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION. 

and  not  interfered  with  by  the  enactments  of  the  legis- 
lators. 

There  is  the  greatest  possible  difference  between  taking 
advantage  of  the  laws  of  nature,  and  originating  laws.  It 
is  not  man's  office  to  originate  laws.  God  has  made  the 
laws,  and  given  man  an  intellect  to  discover  and  apply 
them.  As  well  may  man  make  laws  in  the  physical 
sciences,  or  in  theology,  as  in  political  economy.  It  is  true 
he  may  make  laws,  and  enforce  them ;  but  what  he  never 
can  do  is,  to  make  the  operation  of  those  laws  beneficial 
to  the  world.  This  is  beyond  his  power ;  and,  though 
the  laws  may  be  for  the  pecuniary  advantage  of  the  priv- 
ileged classes  of  a  country,  they  are  necessarily  followed 
by  a  concomitant  series  of  evils,  which  bear  on  the 
masses  of  the  population. 

The  great  truth  which  political  economy  will  ultimately 
teach  is  this,  "  That  God  has  constituted  nature  aright ; 
that  it  is  man's  interest  to  take  advantage  of  the  arrange- 
ments of  nature  according  to  the  laws  which  God  has 
established  in  the  world ;  that  all  human  laws  originat- 
ing in  man  are  prejudicial  arrangements,  which  interfere 
with  the  course  of  nature ;  that  all  such  laws  ought  uni- 
versally to  be  abolished,  so  that  man  may  have  free  scope 
to  extract  the  maximum  of  benefit  from  the  earth." 
Social  arrangements  for  the  benefit  of  all  are  not  laws — 
they  are  adaptations  of  the  laws  of  nature.  These  are 
requisite  for  society  ;  and  to  these  arrangements,  legisla- 
tion, in  its  economical  aspect,  ought  to  be  exclusively 
confined.  When  men  persecute  each  other  on  account  of 
their  religious  tenets  (either  by  positive  infliction  or  by 
exclusion  from  civil  rights),  they  make  laws,  they  orig- 
inate laws ;  when  they  make  it  a  crime  to  kill  a  wild 
animal,  they  originate  laws ;  when  they  tax  the  popula- 
tion for  the  support  of  a  national  creed  and  national  cere- 
monial, they  originate  laws ;  when  they  allow  the  king 
to  grant  fifty  or  a  hundred  thousand  acres  of  the  nation's 


THE  THEORY.  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION.        203 

land  to  an  individual,  they  originate  laws.  There  are  no 
such  laws  as  these  in  nature ;  no  such  laws  in  reason ; 
no  such  laws  in  Scripture.  They  are  mere  human  inven- 
tions, having  no  truth  to  rest  upon ;  they  are  the  produc- 
tions of  man  during  the  era  of  superstition. 

But,  on  the  contrary,  when  men  make  lighthouses  for  the 
protection  gf  maritime  commerce — public  harbors  for  the 
safety  of  ships,  seamen,  and  cargoes — when  they  make  a 
police  to  watch — when  they  pave,  light,  and  clean  towns — 
when  they  make  roads  and  arrangements  for  communica- 
tion— when  they  support  such  national  defences  as  are 
judged  requisite  at  any  given  time — when  they  support 
judges  and  other  officers  to  administer  the  laws  of  just- 
ice— when  they  do  these,  and  many  other  similar  acts,  at 
the  common  expense,  and  enforce  the  payment,  they  do 
not  make  laws.  They  make  only  such  arrangements, 
based  on  the  laws  of  nature  or  equity,  as  are  deemed  fitting 
at  a  given  period ;  they  take  advantage  of  the  world, 
such  as  they  find  it,  and  endeavor  to  evolve  from  it  a 
greater  amount  of  good  than  they  could  do  individually 
were  there  no  such  social  arrangements.  Men  may  make 
laws  if  they  will ;  but  what  they  cannot  do  is,  to  make 
good  to  follow  them. 

§  III.  The  Province  and  Position  of  Politics  Proper. 
—From  political  economy  we  turn  to  politics.  Here  we 
approach  the  argument  that  a  millennium,  or  reign  of 
justice  on  the  earth,  is  a  natural  event;  that  it  belongs  to 
the  course  of  human  evolution;  that  it  is  computable  on 
the  very  same  principles  that  men  employ  to  compute 
other  events  ;  that  it  may  be  inferred  from  the  past  his- 
tory of  human  progression,  which  gives  us  the  actual  line 
of  progress,  and  from  the  logical  ordination  of  the  sciences, 
which  gives'  us  the  abstract  line  of  progress. 

First,  then,  we  have  to  determine  the  position  of  politics 
in  the  scheme  of  classification.  Before  doing  so,  however, 


204 

we  must  remark  that  no  science  of  politics,  whatever  be 
its  form,  or  whatever  be  its  matter,  can  hope  to  meet 
with  impartial  investigation.  Whatever  may  be  the  real 
system  of  truth  (and  a  truth  there  must  be  somewhere), 
that  system  cannot  fail  to  controvert  the  opinions  of 
multitudes,  and  to  be  favorable  or  unfavorable  to  the 
pecuniary  interests  of  multitudes.  A  few  there  may  be 
who  are  able  to  look  calmly ;  but  the  minds  of  the  vast 
majority  are  occupied  by  habitual  prepossessions,  which, 
in  spite  of  every  effort  of  the  will,  prevent  the  intellect 
from  shaking  off  its  fetters.  What  they  have  been  ac- 
customed to,  or  one  short  step  beyond  what  they  have 
been  accustomed  to,  is  the  extent  of  their  intellectual 
horizon.  All  beyond  is  a  fabulous  region  of  mysterious 
portent — an  Ultima  Thule,  whose  thick  waters  are  un- 
navigable— a  land  of  darkness,  which  perhaps  some  of 
our  far-off  descendants  may  possibly  visit,  but  which 
we  can  never  hope  to  explore. 

Admit  the  fact  of  human  progression,  however  (nor  can 
it  reasonably  be  denied),*  and  all  the  objections,  and  all 
the  difficulties  connected  with  the  habitual  credence  of 
a  present  generation,  vanish  into  air.  Let  political  truth 
be  what  it  may,  it  cannot  receive  general  adoption  at  any 
period.  It  must  grow ;  it  must  be  suggested,  misunder- 
stood, denied,  discussed,  adopted  in  part,  rejected  in  part, 
re-discussed,  further  adopted,  and  so  on.  Were  any  gen- 
eration of  men  (constituted  as  men  now  are,  and  mani- 
festing similar  tendencies  to  what  may  everywhere  be 
observed)  to  continue  to  live  on  instead  of  being  replaced 
by  successive  generations,  it  appears  highly  probable  that 

*  It  may  be  necessary  distinctly  to  reiterate,  that  by  human  progression  we 
do  not  mean  the  progression  of  man's  nature,  but  the  progression  of  man's 
knowledge,  and  the  progression  of  his  systematic  arrangements.  We  are  well 
aware  that  there  is  a  doctrine  which  teaches  the  progressive  improvement  of 
human  nature.  And  even  this  latter  doctrine  appears  to  be  so  far  correct,  that 
the  higher  sentiments  of  human  nature  come  more  and  more  into  general 
action  the  more  men  depart  from  barbarism.  But  that  any  amount  of  natural 
improvement  will  make  man  other  than  a  fallen  creature,  is  out  of  the  question. 


THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION.        205 

the  progression  of  man  would  be  for  the  most  part  arrested, 
or,  at  all  events,  it  would  be  much  less  rapid  than  at 
present.  In  general,  men  form  their  opinions  young, 
and  adhere  to  them  for  the  remainder  of  their  lives.  New 
intellect  must  be  brought  forward,  with  its  elasticity,  its 
inquisitive  scepticism,  and  its  ardent  desire  to  form  a 
system  satisfactory  to  itself.  It,  also,  in  time  fixes  its 
credence,  and  a  new  generation  is  required  to  continue 
the  onward  progress,  and  to  pioneer  the  way  into  new 
regions  of  thought.  Truths,  which  the  last  generation 
regarded  as  wild  romances,  or  as  destructive  instigations 
of  the  devil,  are  by  the  next  adopted  in  sober  earnest,  and 
beheld  as  links  in  the  vast  chain  of  natural  revelation,* 
which — century  after  century — goes  on  unfolding  itself. 
Doubts,  disputes,  denials,  and  diversity  of  opinion, 
therefore,  are  of  little  importance.  They  are  natural  ; 
they  must  come.  They  are  the  modes  in  which  man  ex- 
presses his  ignorance,  and  frequently  the  means  he  uses 
to  acquire  knowledge  and  determine  truth.  Where  there 
is  diversity  of  opinion,  there  must  be  ignorance  on  one 
side  or  on  both;  and  bold  would  be  the  man  who,  in 
politics,  should  assert  that  he  had  so  completely  mastered 

*  We  use  the  term  natural  revelation  intentionally,  not  for  the  purpose  of 
putting  science  on  an  equality  with  Scripture  revelation,  but  for  the  purpose  of 
redeeming  it  from  sensational  degradation.  The  grand  question  of  philosophy 
is,  Whether  the  material  world  furnishes  only  a  summation  of  sensual  impres- 
sions, or  whether  it  is  really  and  truly  a  revelation  ?  That  is,  can  we,  or  can  we 
not,  see  through  material  phenomena  into  a  region  which  is  not  appreciable  by 
sense  ?  If  we  say  no,  we  are  sceptics ;  if  yes,  we  are  idealists,  or  (a  much  better 
name)  intellectualists.  To  put  the  question  in  a  clear  light,  we  ask,  "  Is  the 
material  world  a  final  object,  which  conveys  only  sensual  impression  ? "  or, 
"  Is  the  material  world  a  book,  that  affords  sensual  impression  (the  letters 
figures,  pages,  etc.),  and  which,  over  and  above  the  sensual  impression,  con- 
veys an  intellectual  meaning  intended  by  the  Author  ?  "  A  dog,  looking  at  a 
book,  sees  the  same  that  a  man  sees  ;  but  he  understands  not  the  intellectual 
meaning  intended  to  be  conveyed  to  the  reader  by  the  aid  of  the  symbols.  Now, 
is  the  universe  an  object  final,  or  a  book  ?  This  is  the  great  question  of  phi- 
losophy. If  we  admit  it  to  be  a  book,  as  St.  Paul  does  (Rom.  i.  20),  we  thereby 
admit  science  to  be  truly  a  revelation.  Even  if  the  question  were  doubtful, 
which  we  do  not  believe,  we  esteem  St.  Paul's  declaration  a  settlement  of  it, 
as  here  St.  Paul  has  pronounce!  divine  judgment  on  aquestiou  of  philosophy. 


206         THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION. 

all  truth,  that  all  other  men  ought  to  come  over  to  his 
side.    And  yet  there  must  be  a  truth  somewhere ;  and, 
as  knowledge  does  not  admit  of  diversity   of  opinion,  if 
ever  man  can  have  a  system  of  politics  other  than  em- 
pirical, other  than  superstitious,  diversity  of  opinion  must 
disappear  from  politics,  just  as  it  has  disappeared  from 
the  sciences  which  man  has  already  mastered. 
Fir-st,  of  the  position  of  politics  as  a  science. 
1st,  Man  may  act  on  the  external  world  of  matter,  and 
we  may  consider  the  laws  of  such  actions  without 
taking  into  consideration  the  reflex  effect  on   man. 
2d,  We  take  into  consideration  the  reflex  effects  on 
man,  and  in  them  we  find  the  laws  of  political  econ- 
omy.* 

3d,   Man  may  act  on  man  directly,   by  interference. 
The  laws  which  prohibit,  limit,  or  regulate  these  ac- 
tions of  interference,  constitute  the  science  of  politics. 
We  here  proceed  according  to  a  regular  progression, 
beginning  at  the  most  simple  forms   of  human  action, 
and  passing  to  those  which  are  more  and  more  com- 
plex. 

Politics  has  to  do  exclusively  with  the  relations  between 
men,  and  to  determine  the  principles  that  should  regulate 
their  actions  towards  each  other.  Where  interference  is 
not  concerned,  there  is  no  question  in  politics.  This, 
then,  is  the  anterior  limitation  of  the  science, — that  where 
there  is  no  interference  between  man  and  man,  there  is 
no  question  of  politics. 

We  have,  then,  to  determine  the  posterior  boundary — 

*  Political  economy  may  have  a  restricted  or  an  extended  signification.  It 
may  mean  an  exposition  of  the  laws  according  to  which  man  creates  or  pro- 
duces wealth.  In  this  sense  it  is  the  science  of  value.  Or  it  may  mean  an  ex- 
position of  the  laws  which  regulate  social  welfare,  including  the  distribution  of 
wealth,  the  public  health,  the  public  education,  etc.  In  this  sense  it  is  the 
science  of  social  utility,  of  which  the  production  of  wealth  is  only  the  first  and 
simplest  embranchment.  The  economists  of  England  have  strenuously  ad- 
hered to  the  first  meaning  ;  but  their  place  must  soon  be  taken  by  men  of  a  dif- 
ferent stamp,  who  take  a  wider  range  of  investigation. 


THE  THEORY  OF  I1UMAN  PROGRESSION.         1>07 

that  which  separates  it  from  any  science  that  might  lie 
beyond  it. 

This  posterior  limit  is  likely — from  the  prevalence  of 
socialist  and  communist  doctrines — to  become  the  great 
desideratum  of  political  theory.  Those  doctrines,  what- 
ever may  be  the  contempt  heaped  on  them  in  England, 
are  far  more  generally  diffused  than  most  Englishmen 
are  aware  of.  They  are  now  revolutionizing  Europe; 
and  no  one  can  predict  the  extent  of  the  changes  that 
must  follow  them,  if  once  they  gain  the  complete  mastery 
of  the  public  mind.  Instead  of  railing  at  them,  however, 
it  is  much  more  profitable  to  endeavor  to  understand 
them,  and  to  seize  the  fallacy  on  which  they  are  based. 
Those  doctrines"  contain  a  profound  truth  ;  and  more 
than  this,  they  are  the  convulsive  cries  of  man's  spiritual 
nature,  seeking  after  a  better  and  a  holier  world  than  is 
found  in  the  present  condition  of  society.  It  is  true 
that  men  are  brethren,  the  children  of  one  Father;  it  is 
true  that  universal  benevolence  is  a  virtue ;  it  is  true  that 
man  ought  not  to  seek  his  own  advantage  at  the  expense 
of  his  fellow ;  it  is  true  that  in  the  present  system  of 
society  there  are  stupendous  abuses  which  cannot  be 
justified.  And  it  is  also  true  that  socialism  and  com- 
munism are  based  on  fallacies,  although  the  above  truths 
are  ostensibly  at  the  bottom  of  those  systems. 

There  is  a  true  communism  and  a  false  communism. 
Christianity  itself  teaches  us  that  men  are  brethren ;  and 
no  dogmas  that  have  ever  been  uttered  are  more  com- 
munist than  some  precepts  of  the  New  Testament.  It  is 
a  fact,  also — be  it  explained  as  it  may — that  the  early 
Christians  were  de  facto  communists  ;  that  they  held  all 
things  in  common ;  and  that  no  man  called  anything  his 
own.  These  very  doctrines  have  revived  in  our  day,  and 
they  are  now  playing  havoc  with  the  institutions  of 
Europe.  They  are  revived  in  the  world  of  politics,  how- 
ever, and  not  in  the  world  of  religion  ;  and,  as  a  phenom- 


208        THE  THEOEY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION. 

enon  in  the  history  of  man,  this  circumstance  is  well 
worthy  of  attention. 

All  that  we  have  here  to  do  with  communism,  is  to 
point  out  the  fallacy  on  which  it  rests,  when  advanced,  as 
it  is,  into  the  region  of  politics.*  This  fallacy  will  be 
found  the  moment  we  can  determine  the  posterior  limi- 
tation of  the  science  of  politics.  And  if  that  posterior 
limitation  cannot  be  determined,  if  it  cannot  be  settled 
satisfactorily  by  the  fairest  principles  of  reason,  then  no 
man  is  entitled  to  say,  that  communism  may  not,  after 
all,  be  the  correct  theory  of  politics ;  and  though  he  may 
asseverate  as  he  will,  or  rail,  or  abuse,  he  has  no  right  to 
do  so  till  he  can  point  out  the  line  of  demarcation  that 
separates  political  questions  from  those  that  lie  altogether 
beyond  the  sphere  of  politics.  Nor  would  anything  that 
could  be  said  be  of  much  avail  to  stem  the  torrent  of 
credence  that  has  set  in.  Stem  it  we  cannot ;  but  it  may 
be  possible  to  give  it  a  right  direction. 

Political  relations  are  not  relations  of  fraternity.  Love, 
charity,  benevolence,  and  generosity,  have  nothing  what- 
ever to  do  with  politics.  These  substantives,  and  the 
principles  of  action  to  which  they  give  rise,  lie  beyond  the 
region  of  politics.  This  they  do  necessarily,  just  as  neces- 
sarily as  light  and  sound,  optics  and  acoustics,  lie  neces- 
sarily beyond  the  region  of  geometry.  Unless  this  truth 
is  fairly  apprehended,  and  unless  the  line  of  demarcation 
between  politics  and  the  regions  that  lie  beyond  it  is 
logically  determined  and  clearly  perceived,  there  is  a 
continual  danger  of  sliding  imperceptibly  into  socialism. 
Whatever  may  be  true,  or  whatever  may  be  false,  in 
socialism  (using  that  term  in  the  most  unobjectionable 

*  Of  course,  we  speak  here  only  of  that  communism  that  would  obliterate 
private  property  altogether.  The  abolition  of  private  property  in  land,  and  the 
restitution  of  the  soil  to  the  state,  is  an  entirely  different  question.  Every 
political  state  is  a  communist  association,  and  its  common  property  (the  tax- 
ation), must  be  taken  either  from  land  or  labor.  In  Britain,  the  common  prop- 
erty, the  revenue,  already  exceeds  the  rental  of  the  soil. 


THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION.        209 

sense — Christian  socialism,  for  instance),  the  principles  of 
equity  must  first  be  taken  into  consideration  before  we 
can,  by  any  possibility,  proceed  to  the  consideration  of 
those  higher  principles  of  action  which  may  come  into 
play,  when  once  the  principles  of  justice  are  acknowledged 
and  carried  into  general  operation. 

This  question  is,  perhaps  practically,  the  most  impor- 
tant in  modern  politics.  Insurged  millions  let  loose  on 
the  world,  with  vague  ideas  of  fraternity  in  their  heads, 
with  the  courage  of  enthusiasm  in  their  hearts,  and  with 
bayonets  in  their  hands,  are,  at  all  events,  formidable 
expositors  of  doctrine.  Their  energy  is  exactly  what  the 
continent  of  Europe  has  so  long  required ;  but  their 
ignorance  may  transform  what  would  otherwise  have  been 
a  most  useful  reformation,  into  a  terrible  hurricane  of 
vengeance,  and  a  blind  exercise  of  destructive  power. 
Now  that  the  theorist  and  the  orator  can  raise  armed  mil- 
lions, the  game  of  politics  has  assumed  a  new  character. 
Theories  are  no  longer  barren  speculations,  nor  is  oratory 
mere  declamation.  It  is,  therefore,  of  the  first  importance 
that  the  most  careful,  impartial,  and  honest  endeavor 
should  be  made  to  perfect  the  theory  of  politics — to  base 
first  on  the  immutable  foundations  of  justice — to  satisfy 
the  reason  before  setting  the  passions  in  a  flame — to  evolve 
principles  which  can  be  calmly  and  soberly  maintained 
by  the  intellect,  before  they  are  given  as  rules  of  action 
to  enthusiastic  populations,  ready  to  march  in  any 
direction  that  is  plausibly  pointed  out  as  the  right 
one. 

We  have  no  intention,  however,  to  attempt  the  correc- 
tion of  wrong  theories.  Wrong  theories  may  be  sup- 
planted, but  it  is  questionable  whether  they  are  ever  cor- 
rected. The  development  of  the  right  theory  is  the  great 
object.  It  will  do  the  work  if  once  it  can  be  finally 
cleared  of  all  logical  objection.  Men  want  political  truth, 
and  they  are  making  desperate  efforts  to  obtain  it ;  and 


210         THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION. 

obtain  it  they  will  ultimately,  there  can  be  no  possible 
doubt. 

Political  relations,  so  far  from  being  relations  of  frater- 
nity, or  of  love,  or  of  any  of  those  sentiments  that  teach 
us  to  bear  or  to  forbear,  or  to  give  or  to  forgive,  are  re- 
lations of  equity.  They  are  relations  of  justice,  which 
gives  nothing,  and  forgives  nothing.  They  are  jural  re- 
lations, and  political  society  is  a  jural  society.* 

The  moment  this  truth  is  forgotten,  the  door  is  opened 
for  the  wildest  and  most  impracticable  schemes.  We 
have,  in  fact,  broken  down  the  barriers  of  reason,  and 
admitted  a  flood  of  wild  imagination.  While,  on  the  one 
hand,  we  repudiate  everything  that  assumes  the  form 
of  authority  (as  dispensing  with  reason) ;  so,  on  the  other 
hand,  must  we  as  carefully  deny  admission  to  any  prop- 
ositions whatever  which  cannot  show  a  rational  founda- 
tion, because  they  pretend  to  derive  from  the  higher  and 
more  expansive  sentiments  of  the  heart.  Nothing  can  be 
more  delusive,  nothing  more  certainly  dangerous.  Justice 
is  stable,  permanent,  and  strictly  regulative.  It's  rules 
must  determine  the  form  of  society,  a  form  which  may  at 
all  times  be  enforced.  And  if,  as  is  the  case  in  all  known 
countries,  that  form  shall  have  been  departed  from,  then 
force  may  be  legitimately  used  for  its  restoration. 

The  moment,  however,  that  we  attempt  to  substitute 
the  relations  of  benevolence  for  those  of  justice,  both  the 
scales  and  the  sword  fall  from  the  hands  of  the  image. 
Benevolence  can  regulate  nothing,  and  enforce  nothing. 
First  let  me  know  what  is  mine,  and  then  inculcate  the 

*  This  truth  has  been  clearly  apprehended,  and  very  distinctly  announced  by 
Francis  Lieber,  in  his  able  "  Manual  of  Political  Ethics,"  [London:  Williai.i 
Smith,  Fleet  Street.]  That  work  is  well  worthy  the  perusal  of  those  who  take 
an  interest  in  political  science.  It  is  far  from  being  a  formal  treatise,  but  a 
most  admirable  preparation  for  the  gradual  introduction  of  scientific  form. 
"The  state,  I  said,  is  founded  on  the  relations  of  right ;  it  is  a  jural  society,  as 
a  church  is  a  religious  society,  or  an  assurance  company  a  financial  association. 
The  idea  of  the  just,  and  the  action  founded  on  this  idea,  called  justice,  is  the 
broad  foundation  and  great  object  of  the  state."— P.  160. 


THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESS1OX.         211 

duties  and  the  pleasures  of  benevolence.  But  if  nothing 
is  mine,  then  is  there  not  only  no  justice,  but  no  possibility 
of  benevolence ;  and  those  who  advocate  the  absolute 
abolition  of  property,  would  do  well  to  consider  that  the 
moment  property  is  abolished,  that  moment  is  the  practice 
of  benevolence  (such,  at  all  events,  as  involves  the  objects 
of  property)  abolished  also.  The  foundation,  therefore, 
of  political  society  on  benevolence  is  suicidal;  the  only 
possibility  of  benevolence  being  the  admission  that  some, 
thing  is  mine  (service  or  property)  which  I  may  lawfully 
give,  lawfully  withhold,  but  which  I  may  choose  to  give 
if  I  please,  when  actuated  by  benevolence.* 

Love,  benevolence,  charity,  fraternity,  therefore,  cannot 
enter  a  system  of  politics.  Xo  human  society  could  be 
founded  on  them  that  attempts  to  regulate  the  distribution 
of  natural  property,  and  the  allocation  of  that  increased 
value  which  is  created  by  the  labor  of  individuals.  Love 
may,  to  a  certain  extent,  reign  in  a  family  ;  but  in  a  state 
composed  of  a  multitude  of  independent  (although  social) 
individuals,  each  producing  according  to  his  skill,  energy, 
perseverance,  and  accidental  opportunities,  justice  must 

*  The  question,  Whether  there  ought  to  be  any  property  at  all  ?  is  essentially 
distinguished  from  the  question,  What  ought  to  be  property,  and  whose  prop- 
erty ought  it  to  be  ?  The  abolition  of  slavery  is  a  question  of  the  destruction 
of  property.  Destroy  the  property  and  the  slave  is  a  freeman.  This  circum- 
stance shows  that  there  is  nothing  so  very  alarming  in  the  terrible  phrase,  "  de- 
struction of  property."  It  is  one  question,  Whether  there  ought  to  be  property 
in  the  abstract  ?  and  another  and  a  very  different  question,  AVhether  the  present 
distribution,  enforced  by  law,  is  the  correct  one  ?  For  instance,  Does  the 
county  of  Sutherland  belong  to  one  man,  and  can  he  exclude  all  the  ivst  i  >f 
the  inhabitants,  except  from  the  sea-beach  and  the  king's  highway  ?  The  law 
says  so.  Now,  suppose  the  nation  were  to  revise  these  laws,  and  to  affirm  that 
the  cultivators,  from  time  immemorial,  had  quite  as  good  a  right  to  cultivate, 
by  prescription,  as  the  landlord  to  receive  rent  for  which  he  does  not,  and  never 
did,  labor.  Suppose  the  nation  were  to  go  further  in  their  revision,  and  to  say, 
The  king's  grants  of  former  times,  or  any  arrangements  of  former  times,  do 
not  deprive  us  of  our  right  to  our  native  soil.  Suppose  questions  of  this  kind  to 
occur.  These  are  all  questions  of  the  "  destruction  of  property  !  1 "  but  yet 
they  are  essentially  different  from  the  abolition  of  property.  The  abolition  of 
property  is  a  chimera ;  but  the  revision,  and,  to  a  very  large  extent,  the  de- 
struction—that is,  the  transference— is  a  tolerable  certainty.  [Some,  perhaps, 
might  prefer  the  term  intolerable.] 


212        THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION. 

be  the  regulative  principle,  without  which  the  society 
falls  either  under  the  hand  of  tyranny,  or  falls  into  the 
equally  destructive  condition  of  anarchy  and  confusion. 

We  posit,  therefore,  that  political  society  is  a  society 
whose  essence,  end,  and  intention  is  to  exhibit,  in  realiza- 
tion, the  principles  of  equity  or  justice.  And  that  benevol- 
ence has  nothing  whatever  to  do  with  political  society,  as 
such,  may  be  proven  by  the  following  consideration. 

We  can  conceive  that  intellect  should  exist,  separated 
from  sentiment  or  passion.  Let  us  suppose  a  nation  of 
intellectual  beings,  of  pure  intelligences.  It  is  evident  that 
these  might  contemplate  and  reason,  and  that  they  might 
attain  to  truth,  but  that  action  is  impossible  for  them, 
further  than  the  mere  action  of  the  intellect.  Let  us  now 
endow  them  with  the  power  of  action,  with  will,  passions, 
and  with  the  sentiment  of  justice,  but  without  the  senti- 
ment of  love  or  benevolence.  It  is  evident  that  they  would 
be  able  to  perceive,  and  to  carry  into  practice,  the  rules  of 
equity  for  the  regulation  of  their  conduct.  They  would 
be  able  to  determine  that  one  member  had  infringed  the 
rights  of  another — they  would  be  able  to  enforce  restitu- 
tion where  an  injustice  had  been  committed ;  but  they 
would  be  unable  even  to  comprehend  what  benevolence 
was,  and  the  giving  of  property  would  be  absolutely  un- 
known and  unintelligible.  This  society,  nevertheless, 
would  be  a  political  society,  fully  and  completely.  With- 
out even  the  thought  of  benevolence  they  could  carry 
justice  into  universal  operation,  and  weigh  acts  with  the 
utmost  impartiality ;  and  also  they  could  carry  out  the 
laws  of  justice  with  the  most  scrupulous  exactness,  neither 
abating  an  atom  nor  superadding  an  atom.  Political 
society  therefore  could  exist,  and  be  regulated  by  the  most 
strict  rules  of  justice,  even  where  there  was  not  the  idea 
or  the  sentiment  of  benevolence ;  and  consequently  be- 
nevolence is  not  the  basis  of  political  society,  and  ought 
not  to  be  taken  into  consideration  when  we  profess  to 


THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION.        213 

reason  in  politics.  It  lies  beyond  politics,  and  falls  to  be 
considered  when  the  laws  of  justice  have  been  fully  and 
completely  determined. 

Although,  however,  benevolence  has  nothing  to  do  with 
politics,  it  has  much  to  do  with  man.  And  as  it  does  lie 
beyond  politics,  its  laws,  whatever  they  are,  or  wherever 
they  may  be  derived  from,  will  fall  to  be  considered  at 
some  period  or  other.  Towards  them  the  world  is  pro- 
gressing, and  after  a  reign  of  justice  there  will  fall,  in 
necessary  order,  a  reign  of  benevolence.  This  is  logically 
necessary.  When  such  a  happy  period  may  come,  or 
whether  it  may  come  in  this  world,  is  another  question. 
But  that  it  follows  as  logically  as  animal  physiology 
follows  vegetable  physiology,  we  believe  to  be  perfectly 
clear.  In  former  ages,  when  love  and  war  were  esteemed 
the  highest  pursuits  of  man  by  the  ignorant  and  semi- 
barbarous,  an  age  of  political  economy,  like  the  present, 
would  have  been  looked  upon  with  the  most  unmeasured 
contempt  as  to  its  character,  and  the  most  unmeasured 
scepticism  as  to  the  probability  of  its  occurrence.  From 
a  reign  of  political  economy,  however,  to  a  reign  of  justice, 
there  is  incomparably  less  distance  than  from  a  reign  of 
barbarous  power  to  a  reign  of  political  economy.  May 
we  not  learn  from  this  fact  to  expand  our  minds,  and  to 
anticipate  with  bright  hope,  that  the  phases  of  human 
evolution,  passing  upwards  through  the  sentiments  of 
man,  and  exhibiting  those  sentiments  one  after  another 
as  they  are  of  a  higher  and  a  higher  character,  shall  at 
last  present  man  as  realizing  the  highest  principles  of  his 
nature,  and  exhibiting  in  the  outward  figure  of  society 
the  manifestation  of  those  inward  principles  which  make 
man  a  denizen  of  a  spiritual  world,  and  link  him  with  the 
unseen  region  of  light,  and  love,  and  immortality? 

But  if  politics  be  the  science  of  justice,  and  justice  does 
not  admit  the  idea  of  benevolence,  that  idea  being  neces- 
sarily posterior  to  justice,  what  is  the  radical  distinction. 


214        THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION. 

between  justice  and  benevolence,  and  where  is  the  line  of 
demarcation  that  separates  them  ? 

That  line  of  demarcation  is  found  in  the  distinction 
between  the  negative  and  the  positive.  All  the  rules  of 
justice  are  radically  negative  or  restrictive,  and  present 
themselves  in  the  form,  "Thou  shalt  not  do."  All  the 
rules  of  benevolence  are  positive  or  expansive,  and  present 
themselves  under  the  form,  "  Thou  shalt  do,  or  thou 
oughtest  to  do." 

Certain  difficulties  of  language  here  present  themselves, 
as  they  do  wherever  the  theory  of  positive  and  negative 
is  involved.  A  negative  proposition  may  present  itself 
with  the  same  valid  signification  under  the  form  of  a 
positive  proposition,  and  a  positive  preposition  may  pre- 
sent itself  under  the  form  of  a  negative  proposition.  This 
is  universal.  It  applies  no  more  to  politics  than  it  does 
to  logic  or  mathematics  ;  and  though  in  those  sciences  it 
may  cause  little  practical  difficulty,  in  politics  it  may  be 
made  the  basis  of  much  unnecessary  misunderstanding. 

A  very  simple  consideration,  however,  will  place  in  a 
clear  enough  light  the  difference  between  the  negative 
character  of  justice,  and  the  positive  character  of  benevo- 
lence. 

If  all  men  were  socially  passive,  and  did  not  in  any- 
wise interfere  with  each  other,  there  would  be  the  per- 
fection of  justice,  while  there  might  be  the  total  absence 
of  benevolence. 

No  rule  of  justice  can  ever  originate  an  interference. 
All  interference  based  on  justice  is  consequential;  that 
is,  the  consequence  of  a  prior  act  of  interference,  which 
requires  to  be  corrected.  All  primary  interference,  con- 
trary to  the  will  of  the  person  interfered  with  (he  being 
of  sound  mind,  sober,  etc.),  is  an  injustice ;  and  though 
injustice  is  usually  made  to  imply  also  some  matter  of 
detriment,  pain,  or  loss,  yet  this  detriment  is  not  its 
essential  character.  The  essential  character  of  injustice 


THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION.        215 

consists  in  the  forcible  interference  of  one  man  with 
another;  nor  is  any  man  justified  in  constraining  another 
to  receive  even  a  benefit  (or  what  nine  hundred  and  ninety 
men  out  of  a  thousand  would  pronounce  a  benefit)  against 
his  will.  The  essential  character  of  injustice  is,  the  over- 
bearing of  one  man's  will  by  another  man's  force  or  fraud. 
And  no  rule  or  principle  of  equity  can  ever  originate  such 
an  interference. 

The  whole  scheme  of  justice,  therefore,  is  essentially 
and  radically  restrictive,  and  all  its  positive  rules,  or  rules 
which  justify  or  command  interference,  will  be  found  to 
consist  of  those  which  justify  the  restoration  of  things  to 
that  condition  in  which  they  would  have  been  had  there 
been  no  interference.  That  is,  whenever  the  negative 
state  of  non-interference  has  been  departed  from,  and  the 
equilibrium  of  equity  destroyed,  justice  furnishes  rules 
for  positive  interference,  whereby  the  negative  slate  may 
be  restored,  and  the  equilibrium  of  equity  re-established. 
But  this  in  nowise  affects  the  assertion,  that  the  principles 
of  justice,  and  the  scheme  of  the  science,  are  entirely  re- 
strictive ;  because,  let  all  society  be  in  the  negative  state 
of  non-interference,  and  it  would  remain  so  forever  were 
the  rules  of  justice  attended  to. 

Benevolence,  on  the  contrary,  supposes  that  men  shall 
be  socially  active ;  not  that  they  shall  interfere  with  each 
other  without  consent,  but  that  they  shall  take  a  constant 
interest  in  each  other's  welfare,  and  be  ready  to  offer  the 
helping  hand  of  sympathy  when  sorrows  fall  upon  their 
brethren.  Benevolence  cannot  infringe  justice,  it  only 
superadds  more  than  justice  could  require. 

Such  a  condition  of  society,  then,  as  would  be  com- 
patible with  the  perfection  of  justice,  might  exclude  be- 
nevolence altogether.  Consequently,  justice  and  benevo- 
lence are  radically  distinguished  from  each  other;  and 
politics,  which  is  the  science  of  justice,  is  independent 
of  benevolence. 


'216        THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION. 

Here,  then,  we  learn  the  posterior  limit  of  the  science 
of  politics. 

Where  there  is  no  question  of  interference  between 
man  and  man,  there  is  no  question  of  politics.  This  is 
the  anterior  limit,  that  which  separates  it  from  all  that 
comes  before  it  ;  from  political  economy,  the  physical 
sciences,  and  the  mathematical  sciences. 

And  the  posterior  limit  is  found  in  the  fact,  that  the 
science  is  confined  exclusively  to  the  exhibition  of  the  laws 
relating  to  such  interference  as  is  consequent  on  a  de- 
parture from  the  state  of  non-interference,  and  to  the 
exhibition  of  the  laws  (intuitions  of  the  reason)  which 
prohibit  all  primary  interference.  [The  latter,  of  course, 
come  logically  first  in  the  exposition  of  the  science.] 

Having,  then,  determined  the  limits  of  the  science  of  poli- 
tics, we  affirm  (from  the  preceding  data)  that  its  position 
is  immediately  after  the  science  of  political  economy,  and 
that  it  is  followed  by  the  laws  of  benevolence,  wherever 
these  may  be  derived  from. 


THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION.        217 


CHAPTER  III. 

ON  THE  THEORY  OF  MAN'S  PRACTICAL  PROGRESSION. 


SECTION    I. OUTLINE     OF    THE    ARGUMENT,     THAT    THERE    IS 

A    NATURAL     PROBABILITY     IN     FAVOR    OF    THE     REIGN     OF 
JUSTICE. 

[This  argument,  the  outline  of  which  is  given  in  the 
present  section,  is  continued  to  the  end  of  the  volume. 
It  is  based  upon, 

1.  The  analysis  of  the  forms  of  scientific  truth,  and 

the  order  of  the  evolution  of  the  sciences. 

2.  On  the  abstract  forms  of  man's  historic  manifesta- 

tions. 

3.  On  the  general  arrangement  of  the  component  facul- 

ties of  man,   and  the  order  in  which  these  come 
into  exercise.] 

We  have  now  to  make  good  our  argument,  that  there 
is  a  natural  probability  in  favor  of  a  millennium,  or 
reign  of  justice.  We  assume  from  Scripture  the  fact, 
that  there  shall  be  a  millennium ;  and  all  we  have  to  do 
is  to  point  out  the  natural  probability  of  its  occurrence, 
and  the  probable  mechanism  by  which  that  condition  is 
to  be  brought  about.  We  treat,  therefore,  not  of  a  theo- 
logical millennium,  which  may  involve  spiritual  elements 
only  to  be  known  by  the  light  of  holy  Scripture,  but  of 
the  second  causes  which,  operating  in  the  world,  shall  at 
last  bring  man  into  the  state  most  favorable  for  the  opera- 


218        THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION. 

tion  of  Scripture  truth.  A  scriptural  millennium  is  much 
more  than  a  mere  reign  of  justice,  although  that  is  amain 
element;  but  here  we  touch  only  on  that  part  of  the 
scriptural  millennium  which  involves  the  improvement 
of  the  human  race  in  those  qualities  and  conditions  with 
which  we  are  naturally  cognizant. 

And  we  affirm  that,  beyond  a  doubt,  a  reign  of  justice 
is  to  be  anticipated  on  the  fairest  principles  of  computa- 
tion ;  and  that  the  argument  by  which  it  is  established 
will  bear  the  closest  scrutiny  of  the  impartial  reason. 
Setting  aside  Scripture  altogether  (if  the  expression  may 
be  allowed),  we  maintain  that  man  has,  within  the  range 
of  his  natural  knowledge,  sufficient  means  for  determin- 
ing, that  if  the  course  of  human  history  continue  ordi- 
nated  on  the  same  principles  that  may  be  inferred  from  a 
consideration  of  the  past  and  present,  then  in  the  future 
there  must  come  a  time  when  justice  shall  be  the  regu- 
lative principle  of  the  earth,  and  man  shall  carry  it  into 
systematic  and  universal  operation. 

And  though  we  advance  this  argument  for  political 
purposes  alone,  we  esteem  it  no  mean  thing  that  the  good 
times  of  prosperity,  graciously  revealed  in  Scripture,  are 
actually  borne  out  to  the  natural  reason  of  mankind. 
After  all  that  has  been  said  of  the  millennium,  we  cannot 
help  thinking  that  there  is  a  peculiar  satisfaction  in  find- 
ing that  nature,  history,  and  reason  contribute  to  authen- 
ticate the  promise.  That  the  more  closely  the  intellect 
shall  search,  and  the  more  widely  it  shall  extend  its 
views,  it  shall  yet  learn  more  and  more  to  bow  in  simple 
faith  before  the  Divine  Word,  which,  with  all  its  mys- 
teries, does  continue  to  justify  itself  in  each  new  view  we 
gain  of  nature,  and  to  unfold  perpetual  witness  of  its  own 
divinity.  Amid  the  wreck  of  empires,  the  turmoils  of 
society,  and  the  dark  labyrinths  of  deceiving  doctrines,  it 
is  pleasant  to  lay  hold  on  a  clue  of  hope  which  leads  to 
better  and  happier  times,  and  ends  at  last  in  a  kingdom 


THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGEESSION.        219 

of  righteousness,  where  they  "  shall  sit  under  their  own 
vine  and  their  own  fig-tree,  none  making  them  afraid." 

Let  us  now  endeavor  to  condense  the  argument  and 
to  place  it  fairly  before  the  understanding.  We  believe  it 
valid,  and  do  not  fear  to  present  it  in  its  most  naked  form. 

1st.  The  progression  of  humanity  is  in  proportion  to 
the  acquisition  of  rational  knowledge,  and  the  reduction 
of  that  knowledge  to  practical  operation. 

2d.  Rational  knowledge  is  divided  into  the  various 
sciences. 

3d.  A  science  is  composed  of  nomenclature  (the  name), 
description  and  classification  (the  proposition),  and  rea- 
soning (the  syllogism). 

4th.  The  sciences  have  among  themselves  a  necessary 
co-ordination. 

5th.  The  measure  of  this  co-ordination  is  the  relative 
simplicity  or  complexity  of  the  objects  involved  in  the 
science. 

6th.  In  classifying  the  sciences,  the  most  simple  sciences 
are  necessarily  placed  first,  then  those  that  are  more  com- 
plex, and  so  forth. 

7th.  The  sciences  have  a  necessary  order  of  chrono- 
logical discovery. 

8th.  The  order  of  chronological  discovery  is  coincident 
with  the  order  of  logical  classification. 

9th.  Consequently,  if  the  logical  classification  be  satis- 
factorily achieved,  and  the  whole  of  the  sciences  are  not 
yet  evolved,  we  can  predict  what  the  future  order  of  dis- 
covery will  be. 

10th.  The  general  groundwork  of  the  classification  of 
the  sciences  is  as  follows  : — 

I.  The  abstract  sciences,  which  give  the  universal 
forms  of  rational  necessity.  These  are  called  the  mathe- 
matical sciences,  and  they  occur  necessarily  in  the  follow- 
ing  order ; — 


2'20        THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION. 

1.  Logic.*    The  universal  form  of  all  science  whatever. 

2.  Arithmetic.     Logic  applied  to  numbers. 

3.  Algebra.    Arithmetic  applied  to  quantities. 

4.  Geometry.    Algebra  applied  to  the  forms  of  space. 

5.  Statics.     Geometry  applied  to  forces. 

Intermediate  science. 
Dynamics.     Subject,  force.    Product,  motion. 

II.  The  inorganic  physical  sciences. 

Mechanics.    Phenomena,  equilibrium,  motion. 

The  phenomena  of  solids. 

liquids. 

gaseous  fluids. 

imponderable  fluids. 

Magnetism,  chemistry,  and  electricity.  Phenomena, 
motion,  polarization,  formation,  combination,  and  decom- 
position, etc. 

III.  The  organic  sciences. 

1st,  Botany.          |   Phenomena,  life,  growth,  propaga- 
2d,  Zoology.f        i        tion,  etc. 

*  Logic  and  statics  may  or  may  not  be  considered  as  mathematical  sciences 
according  to  the  signification  given  to  that  term.  But  this  is  a  mere  question 
of  the  use  of  a  name.  Logic  is  purely  abstract,  and  being  the  most  general 
form  of  science  is  necessarily  anterior  to  arithmetic  ;  so  that,  if  the  term  mathe- 
matic  be  applied  to  all  the  sciences  involved  in  the  rational  investigation  of 
numbers,  quantities,  and  spaces,  logic  (or  syllogistic)  is  a  mathematical  science. 
Again,  statics  superadds  to  space  the  concept  force,  and  there  are  a  priori  prop- 
ositions with  regard  to  force  of  a  character  exactly  similar  to  the  axioms  of 
mathematics;  e.  g.,  two  equal  forces  acting  in  the  same  straight  line,  but  in 
opposite  directions,  will  neutralize  each  other.  Thus,  statics  may  be  considered 
as  that  portion  of  the  general  doctrine  of  force  which  has  an  intimate  connection 
with  the  sciences  of  space  and  quantity  ;  while  dynamics  may  be  considered  as 
more  nearly  related  to  the  matter  sciences.  Or  a  genus  may  be  made  for 
statics  and  dynamics,  as  in  the  table  in  the  Appendix.  To  this  genus  there 
can  be  no  objection,  when  we  remember  that  science  reads  nature  backwards, 
and  takes  the  fundamental  categories  in  an  inverted  order,  so  that  force  may 
be  abstracted  in  thought  from  matter. 

t  These  we  have  previously  termed  vegetable  and  animal  physiology,  for  the 
purpose  of  insisting  on  the  fact,  that  descriptive  botany,  descriptive  zoology, 


THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION.         221 

IV.  Man-science. 

Functions.  Action  on  the  external  world. 

Action  on  man,  without  interference. 

....  Action  on  man  by  interference. 

....  Actions  towards  the  Divine  Being. 

The  principles  of  correct  action,  for  the  first  class  of 
these  functions,  are  derived  from  the  sciences  that  precede 
man-science. 

The  second  class  of  functions  gives  rise  to  political 
economy,  which  furnishes  the  rule  of  correct  action. 

The  third  class  to  politics. 

The  fourth  "class  to  religion,  the  scientific  groundwork 
of  which  is  theology. 

We  posit,  then,  that  human  progression  is  from  logic 
and  the  mathematical  sciences,  through  the  physical 
sciences,  and  up  to  man-science. 

In  estimating  human  progression  as  a  fact,  we  can  only 
study  it  as  it  has  manifested  itself  since  the  schoolmen, 
by  the  adoption  of  a  rational  organon,  began  to  lay  anew 
the  foundation  principles  of  human  credence,  and  to  de- 
velop the  general  doctrine  of  method.  The  schoolmen 
(notwithstanding  the  contempt  so  superfluously  heaped 
on  their  memory)  are  undoubtedly  the  genuine  founders 
of  modern  science ;  and  Aristotle  is  the  grand  master  of 
that  association,  whose  object  is  to  achieve  a  scheme  of 
rational  truth  which  shall  be  the  same  for  all  human  in- 
tellect, wherever  that  intellect  can  comprehend  it.  Ontol- 
ogy and  logic  are  necessarily  anterior  to  the  sciences  of 
number,  quantity,  and  space;  and  though  the  schoolmen 
attempted  to  carry  their  method  into  regions  where  it 
was  not  applicable,  they  went  no  further  astray  in  so 
doing  than  the  sensationalists,  who  apply  the  method  of 

anatomy,  etc.,  are  not  sciences.  They  are. mere  classifications  and  descriptions 
of  objects  whose  functions  must  be  studied  before  we  have  science,  properly  so 
called. 


222         THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION. 

matter  to  the  phenomena  of  mind,  and  thereby  attempt  to 
obliterate  all  morals. 

We  ask,  then,  in  what  way  knowledge  tends  to  improve 
the  condition  of  man  upon  the  globe  ? 

Correct  knowledge  is  the  only  means  whereby  correct 
action  can  be  performed.  In  advancing,  therefore,  the 
probability  of  a  millennium  in  politics,  we  must,  of  course, 
imply  that  a  millennium  in  other  departments  has  actually 
taken  place,  or  is  now  taking  place.  And  this  we  do. 
The  definition  of  a  millennium  is,  for  us,  not  any  period 
of  time,  but  a  period  of  truth  discovered  and  reduced  to 
practice.  And  consequently,  when  we  speak  of  a  political 
millennium,  we  speak  of  a  period  when  political  truth 
shall  be  discovered  and  be  reduced  to  practice ;  and  such 
a  period  we  maintain  to  be  within  the  bounds  of  rational 
anticipation. 

Let  us  reflect  that  the  constitution  of  man,  and  the 
earth  on  which  he  is  placed,  permits  of  possible  condi- 
tions. Some  conditions  are  bad,  some  better,  and  some 
are  the  best  that  can  exist  with  such  an  earth  and 
such  inhabitants.  No  person  can,  for  a  moment,  main- 
tain that  man  has  achieved  the  best  conditions  of  which 
the  terrestrial  economy  (including  the  inhabitants  of  the 
globe)  is  capable.  No  countiy,  no  tribe,  no  nation,  can 
lay  claim  to  the  honor  of  having  placed  itself  in  the  best 
conditions  which  Providence  had  allowed  it  to  enjoy. 
Now,  in  speaking  of  a  millennium,  we  pronounce  nothing 
whatever  on'  the  absolute  amount  of  evil  that  is  or  is  not 
inseparable  from  man.  All  we  contend  for  is,  that  man 
is  continually  progressing  towards  the  best  conditions 
that  the  terrestrial  economy  renders  possible,  and  that 
the  day  will  come  when  his  political  condition  shall  be 
perfected,  on  the  same  principles  that  he  perfects  his 
other  conditions. 

'  Knowledge  is  the  only  means  given  to  man  to  evolve 
correct  action,   and    correct  action   is   the  only   means 


THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION.         223 

whereby  the  best  condition  can  be  attained.  And  this 
principle  is  common  to  every  branch  of  knowledge. 

Let  a  political  millennium  then  mean,  the  best  political 
condition  to  which  man  can  attain.  A  political  millen- 
nium cannot  mean  more  than  this. 

A  political  millennium,  then,  will  take  place  whenever 
political  truth  is  discovered  and  reduced  to  practice.  We 
do  not  say  what  is  political  truth,  or  what  is  not  political 
truth;  but  merely  determine  the  general  conditions  of 
what  we  mean  by  a  political  millennium. 

And  we  affirm  that,  according  to  the  past  progression 
of  mankind  in  other  departments  of  knowledge  and  of 
action,  there  are  good  grounds  for  believing  that  political 
truth  shall  be  discovered  and  reduced  to  practice.  In  so 
doing,  we  treat  political  science,  not  as  a  mystery  which 
refuses  to  be  reduced  to  system,  and  which  would  there- 
by justify  those  who  appeal  to  necessity  (whatever  course 
they  take),*  but  as  one  of  the  sciences  which  it  behoves 
man  to  study,  exactly  in  the  same  manner  that  he  would 
study  dynamics,  or  any  other  branch  of  knowledge. 

Whatever  may  be  the  matter  of  political  truth,  and 


*  When  an  action  is  so  utterly  defenceless  that  no  reason  can  be  alleged  in  its 
favor,  its  abettors  usually  fall  back  on  necessity.  "  It  is  true,  the  thing  might 
not  be  quite  right ;  but,  after  all,  you  must  allow  it  to  have  been  necessary." 
Such  is  a  concise  summary  of  the  political  reasonings  of  a  class.  As  if  any- 
thing could  be  necessary  whereby  we  interfered  with  others,  unless  it  were 
based  on  the  most  clear  and  indisputable  rational  truth.  As  an  instance,  we 
give  the  following  paragraph  :— 

"  The  Solas  Removals.— It  was  previously  stated  that  Lord  Macdonald  had 
desired  the  removal  of  his  smaller  tenantry  from  the  Solas  district.  We  have 
since  learned  that  the  people  are  to  remain  over  the  winter,  on  condition  of 
emigrating  in  the  spring  of  next  year.  They  have  given  up  their  stock,  and 
Lord  Macdonald  allows  them  to  remain  in  their  houses,  retaining  also  their  grain 
and  potato  crops,  a  cow  to  supply  milk,  and  a  garron  or  horse  to  convey  their 
winter  peats.  The  destitute  are  to  be  supplied  with  meal  and  clothes,  and  all 
arrears  of  rent  are  abandoned.  We  have  no  wish  in  any  way  to  encourage 
wholesale  clearances,  and  sincerely  regret  that  Lord  Macdonald  should  find  it 
.iry  to  remove  large  bodies  of  an  attached  tenantry;  but  where  the 
means  of  emigration  are  provided  for  a  depressed,  poverty-stricken,  and  almost 
starving  community,  the  true  philanthropist  will  not  be  in  haste  to  censure. 
This  is  the  case  in  Solas." — Inverness  Courier. 


224        THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION. 

whatever  may  be  the  condition  of  society  that  expresses 
that  truth  in  outward  manifestation,  we  have  only  to 
consider  the  sphere  of  political  truth  to  determine  that  it 
is  as  much  within  man's  reach  as  truth  in  any  other 
department. 

What,  in  fact,  is  the  problem  of  politics  ?  To  discover 
the  laws  which  should  regulate  men  in  the  matter  of 
interference.  When  those  laws  are  discovered,  political 
truth  is  discovered.  Now,  notwithstanding  the  perpetual 
misconception  of  the  nature  of  political  science,  arising 
from  the  fact  that  it  is  almost  invariably  confounded  with 
government,  the  right  to  govern,  the  king's  majesty,  the 
authority  of  the  sovereign,  and  the  other  superstitious 
devices  by  which  men  impose  on  themselves  from  the 
force  of  habit,  what  reason  can  possibly  be  alleged  for 
asserting  that  the  laws  which  should  regulate  men  in  the 
matter  of  interference,  are  not  as  much  within  the  reach 
of  the  human  intellect  as  the  laws  which  should  regulate 
the  merchant  in  carrying  on  his  commercial  transac- 
tions ? 

But  while  we  anticipate  that  the  day  will  come  when 
political  truth  shall  be  discovered,  and  be  as  generally 
acknowledged  as  truth  in  any  other  science,  it  is  impor- 
tant to  apprehend  the  reason  why  political  truth  has  not 
yet  assumed  a  systematic  form. 

If  man  progress  in  knowledge  from  the  more  simple  to 
the  more  complex  (and  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  he 
does  progress  according  to  this  law),  it  is  plainly  evident 
that  man,  being  the  most  complex  of  all  the  objects  that 
inhabit  the  earth,  must  be  the  last  whose  phenomena  are 
subjected  to  analysis.  Let  the  sciences  be  classed  as  they 
may,  man,  and  man's  functions  must  always  be  placed  at 
the  extreme  end  of  the  scale  of  natural  knowledge  ;  and 
consequently  it  is  no  wonder  that  man-science  is  not  com- 
pleted, when  men  are  only  approaching  the  completion  of 
matter-science. 


THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION.         225 

Man  first  evolves  logic  and  the  mathematical  sciences, 
then  the  inorganic  physical  sciences,  then  the  organic 
physical  sciences,  and,  last  of  all,  he  makes  man  his  intel- 
lectual object,  and  endeavors  to  discover  the  laws  of  his 
functions.  No  matter  how  long  or  how  short  a  time  may 
be  employed  in  the  evolution,  this  is  the  necessary  order 
in  which  the  discovery  of  science  must  take  place.  And 
it  would  be  quite  as  absurd  for  us  now  to  affirm  that 
politics  cannot  assume  exactly  the  same  form  and  cer- 
tainty as  the  other  sciences — as  it  would  have  been  for 
men  to  affirm  that  chemistry  could  not  reach  its  present 
perfection  when  their  attention  was  devoted  to  mechanics, 
and  the  region  of  chemistry  was  occupied  by  groundless 
superstition. 

But  while  we  affirm  that  political  science  cannot  fail  to 
be  reduced  to  such  an  unobjectionable  system  as  shall 
command  the  assent  of  the  unprejudiced  intellect,  we 
have  yet  to  look  back  on  the  operation  of  scientific  truth, 
and  to  observe  how  the  mere  dogma  becomes  trans- 
formed into  an  external  reality — how  the  mere  proposi- 
tion, which  the  intellect  apprehends,  becomes  the  means  of 
vast  achievement,  and  of  vast  benefit  to  the  race  of  man. 

It  has  been  well  said  that  "error  is  the  cause  of  human 
misery ;  "  and  as  surely  may  it  be  said  that  knowledge  is 
the  antidote  of  error,  and  the  means  of  man's  redemption 
from  misery.  And  though  it  is  true  that  religion  is  the 
cause  of  individual  regeneration,  and  the  true  and  main 
cause  of  man's  progression  towards  good,  we  must  not, 
on  that  account,  neglect  the  study  of  the  mechanism  of 
progression,  or  fail  to  note  the  route  by  which  man  must 
pass  in  his  upward  and  onward  progress.  It  is  true  that 
the  Christian  religion  is  what  makes  men  progress — it 
gives  the  impulse ;  but  it  does  not  describe  the  various 
steps  of  the  course  which  the  human  race  must  take  in 
its  passage  to  an  equitable  condition  of  society. 

The  steps  of  that  course,  so  far  as  the  race  is  concerned, 
'5 


226         THE  THEORY  OF  JIl'MA.X  PROGRESSION. 

must  be  looked  for  in  the  evolution  of  the  sciences  one 
after  another.  And  each  new  science  is  not  only  a  revela- 
tion to  the  intellect,  but  a  new  power  for  performing 
things  which  could  not  otherwise  have  been  done ;  in 
fact,  a  new  sceptre  for  man  to  rule  the  world,  and  to  bend 
its  elements  in  obedience  to  his  will.* 

Let  us  again  repeat,  that  knowledge  is  the  only  means 
given  to  man  to  evolve  correct  action ;  and  that  correct 
action  is  the  only  means  whereby  man  can  evolve  a  cor- 
rect, and  consequently  beneficial  condition.  Let  us  also 
•note  well,  that  knowledge  does  not  admit  of  diversity  of 
opinion ;  that  where  knowledge  is  really  attained  and 
properly  substantiated,  uniformity  of  credence  is  its  con- 
stant and  necessary  result ;  and  consequently,  wherever 
we  find  diversity  of  opinion,  we  have  a  region  where 
knowledge  is  not  yet  attained,  or  where  it  is  not  yet  met 
with  general  acceptance. 

*  "  It  is  never  expected,  and  indeed  it  is  not  possible,  that  the  mass  of  man- 
kind should  be  acquainted  with  the  process  by  which  any  kind  of  investigation 
whatever  is  carried  on.  The  search  after  truth,  even  the  truths  of  the  phenom- 
enal world,  is  a  process  to  them  completely  enveloped  in  darkness ;  all  they 
have  to  do  is  to  reap  the  practical  fruits  of  any  discovery  when  it  is  made, 
without  casting  one  single  thought  upon  the  steps  by  which  others  have  arrived 
at  it.  If  we  look  for  a  moment  at  the  law  by  which  thought  is  propagated,  we 
find  that  it  always  descends  from  the  highest  order  of  thinkers  to  those  who 
are  one  degree  below  them ;  from  these  again  it  descends  another  degree, 
losing  at  each  step  of  the  descent  something  more  of  the  scientific  form,  until 
it  reaches  the  mass  in  the  shape  of  some  admitted  fact,  of  which  they  feel 
there  is  not  a  shadow  of  doubt ;— a  fact  which  rests  on  the  authority  of  what 
all  the  world  above  them  says,  and  which  therefore  they  receive,  totally  re- 
gardless of  the  method  of  its  elucidation.  Take,  for  example,  any  great  fact  or 
law  of  nature  ascertained  by  means  of  physical  science.  Such  a  fact  is  first  of 
all,  perchance,  wrung  from  the  most  close  and  laborious  mathematical  analysis  ; 
a  few,  perhaps,  may  take  the  trouble  to  follow  every  step  of  this  process  ;  but 
the  mass,  even  of  natural  philosophers  themselves,  are  content  to  see  what  is 
the  method  of  investigation,  to  copy  the  formulas  in  which  it  results,  and  then 
put  it  down  as  so  much  further  accession  to  their  physical  science.  The  mass 
of  intelligent,  educated  minds,  again,  with  a  general  idea  only  of  mathematical 
analysis,  accept  the  fact  or  law  we  are  now  supposing,  as  one  of  the  many 
beautiful  results  of  investigations  which  they  acknowledge  to  be  far  beyond 
the  reach  of  their  own  powers;  and  from  them,  lastly,  it  descends  to  the  rest 
of  the  community  as  a  bare  fact,  which  they  appropriate  to  their  own  use. 
simply  as  being  a  universally  acknowledged  truth."— Morell's  Ifixt.  .Vod, 
Philosophy— Introduction. 


THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION.         227 

Let  us  now  ask,  what  is  the  essence  of  that  ultimate 
condition  of  man,  expressed  for  brevity's  sake  by  the  word 
millennium  ? — A  period  when  truth  is  discovered,  ac- 
knowledged, and  carried  into  practical  operation.  In 
so  far  as  the  millennium  is  a  religious  millennium,  it  is  a 
period  when  religious  truth  shall  be  discovered,  acknowl- 
edged, and  carried  into  practical  operation.  And  in 
so  far  as  it  is  a  political  millennium,  it  is  a  period  when 
political  truth  shall  be  discovered,  acknowledged,  and 
carried  into  practical  operation.  And  so  forth  for  every 
other  branch  of  knowledge  that  is  capable  of  being  re- 
duced to  practice. 

The  sacred  Scriptures,  it  is  well  known,  do  not  teach 
man  science,  nor  do  they  even  advert  to  some  of  the 
greatest  earthly  consequences  that  flow  from  their  accept- 
ance. The  Scriptures,  in  a  most  remarkable  manner, 
confine  themselves  to  religion.  Their  tendency  is  moral, 
not  intellectual.  As  much  as  is  required  to  convey  the 
moral  teaching  is  explicitly  declared ;  but  the  most  re- 
markable silence  is  preserved  on  many  questions  of  the 
most  intense  interest,  apparently  for  the  very  purpose  of 
never  allowing  man's  attention  to  be  diverted,  even  for  a 
moment,  from  the  mighty  purpose  for  which  they  were 
sent.  Their  province  is  eternity;  and  the  things  of  time 
are  apparently  referred  to  only  as  they  stand  connected 
with  man's  eternal  welfare.  Let  us  take  two  circum- 
stances alone  to  illustrate  our  position.  In  every  region  of 
the  earth  where  Christianity  has  not  prevailed,  woman  has 
more  or  less  been  looked  upon  as  inferior  to  man,  and  in 
some  regions  has  been  reduced  to  absolute  degradation. 
Christianity  has  everywhere  restored  woman  to  her  moral 
equality  with  man ;  and  it  is  questionable  whether  man 
has  not  been  even  the  greatest  gainer  by  the  change. 
Again,  slavery — or  the  subjugation  of  man  to  man,  and 
the  transformation  of  man  from  a  being  into  a  thing — has 
been  almost  universal.  Wherever  Christianity  has  pre- 


228         THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION, 

vailed,  slavery  has  gradually  disappeared ;  and  there  can- 
not be  the  slightest  doubt,  that  the  prevalence  of  Bible 
religion  will  ultimately  obliterate  every  remnant  of  slavery 
from  the  face  of  the  earth.  Enough  has  been  already  done 
to  assure  us  of  this  unmistakable  tendency  of  Bible  relig- 
ion ;  and  though  a  corrupted  Christianity  may  yet  tolerate 
the  abomination,  there  need  be  no  hesitation  in  regarding 
the  freedom  of  man  and  the  emancipation  of  the  slave  as 
the  necessary  attendants  which,  sooner  or  later,  will  every- 
where follow  the  acceptance  of  the  gospel.* 

And  if  we  calmly  consider  the  magnitude  of  these  two 
social  changes,  can  we  estimate  their  importance,  or  match 
them  by  any  other  two  changes  which  have  taken  place 
in  the  condition  of  mankind  ?  Take  the  first  alone — the 
emancipation  of  woman,  and  her  restoration  to  that  place 
which  the  Diviiie  Being  designed  her  to  occupy  as  the 
companion  and  helpmeet  for  man.  And  all  this,  man 
owes  to  Christianity.  It  was  not  man's  doing.  It  was 
God's  word  that  wrought  the  change.  And  yet,  where  in 
the  whole  record  of  revelation  can  we  point  to  a  single 
passage  that  affirms  that  such  a  change  would  follow  the 
acceptance  of  the  gospel?  It  is,  in  fact,  the  greatest 
change  that  has  ever  taken  place  in  man's  domestic  con- 
dition. If  it  were  possible  to  allow  man  to  remain  as  he 
is,  and  to  return  woman  to  her  inferiority  and  degradation, 
how  long  could  society  remain  ?  Virtue  would  forsake 
mankind,  and  heaven  would  hide  its  face  and  its  favor 
from  the  injustice.  The  good  elements  of  society  would 
at  once  disappear,  and  the  corrupted  mass,  putrifying, 
would  return  to  its  base  and  earthly  elements.  And  yet, 
if  we  search  Scripture,  we  shall  find  only  the  principles 
of  the  great  change,  and  not  one  single  prediction  of  its 
occurrence.  And  so  with  slavery.  So  little  does  the 
letter  of  Scripture  pronounce  judgment  on  the  iniquity, 

*  For  a  character  of  slaveholding  religion,  see  "The  Life  of  Frederick  Doug- 
lass," written  by  himself. 


TEE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION.        229 

that  churches  have  not  been  wanting  which  dared  to  ad- 
vance Scripture  arguments  for  its  justification.  And  yet 
who  can  doubt  that  the  spirit  of  Christ's  holy  religion  is 
certain,  wherever  it  prevails,  to  emancipate  the  slave,  and 
to  reinstate  him  in  all  those  natural  rights  which,  as  a 
moral,  intellectual,  and  religious  being,  are  his  birth- 
rights, necessary  to  be  preserved  to  enable  him  to  fulfil 
the  destiny  of  responsibility  ? 

And  so  with  the  millennium.  Scripture  holds  out  the 
promise  of  a  religious  millennium ;  but  can  we  suppose 
that  the  period  of  blessedness  will  not  involve  much  more 
than  is  apparent  on  the  page  of  Holy  Writ  ?  Is  it  at  all 
illegitimate  to  infer,  that  natural  truth  shall  have  received 
a  vast  expansion — that  there  shall  be  a  millennium  of  the 
intellect — a  completion  of  the  process  of  continual  dis- 
covery ;  and,  instead,  only  a  process  of  continual  adap- 
tation ?  Is  the  field  of  intellectual  research  a  field  where 
continual  warfare  must  be  waged,  where  conquest  after 
conquest  leaves  yet  as  much  to  conquer?  Or  is  the 
march  of  human  knowledge  not  rather  the  journey  from 
the  land  of  darkness?  is  not  this  the  time  of  the  exodus? 
and  may  we  not  surely  look  forward  to  the  period  when 
the  intellect,  entering  into  the  promised  land  of  truth, 
shall  journey  no  longer  forward,  but  rest  in  the  rich  enjoy- 
ment of  her  sanctuary  ? 

Such,  we  maintain,  to  be  the  case  (not  from  Scripture, 
for  Scripture  is  silent  on  these  points,  but)  from  the  past 
progress  of  mankind,  and  from  the  present  elements  at 
work  in  a  direction  that  cannot  be  mistaken.  Scripture 
posits  a  religious  millennium  as  a  fact,  and  in  Scripture 
that  period  appears  isolated,  if  we  may  so  speak.  It  ap- 
pears separated  from  the  anterior  periods  of  history.  It 
does  not  seem  to  follow  as  a  natural  consequence  from  the 
times  which  precede  it.  Its  preparation  is,  at  best,  but 
slightly  alluded  to ;  and,  though  we  are  told  that  knowl- 
edge shall  be  increased,  we  are  by  no  means  explicitly  in- 


230         THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION. 

formed  what  kind  of  knowledge  that  is,  or  what  are  to  be 
its  effects.  And  why,  we  may  ask,  does  Scripture  confine 
itself  to  such  narrow  bounds  ?  Can  we  not  see  the  very 
same  principle  pervading  this  portion  of  Scripture  that 
pervades  so  many  others ;  namely,  that  Scripture  confines 
its  declarations  to  the  religious  part  of  the  predicted 
period,  leaving  it  to  man  to  discover  for  himself  all  the 
other  concomitants,  all  the  natural  accessories,  which  are 
within  the  range  of  reason,  and  which  man  may  estimate 
with  some  good  degree  of  probability? 

On  this  ground  we  maintain,  that  although  the  millen- 
nium, in  one  sense,  may  be  an  isolated  period,  essentially 
different  from  all  we  know  of  the  earth's  past  history ; 
yet,  in  another  sense,  it  is  a  period  for  which  preparations 
are  continually  going  on  ;  and  if  we  conceive  it  to  include 
the  discovery  and  reduction  to  practice  of  natural  knowl- 
edge, as  well  as  of  religious  knowledge,  then  the  natural 
portion  of  the  millennium  has  already  commenced,  and 
we  may  expect  it  to  grow  more  and  more  apparent  at 
every  future  period  of  the  earth's  history.  In  fact,  the 
religious  millennium  would  in  that  case  be  only  the  com- 
pletion of  a  series,  the  perfection  of  an  evolution  that  had 
been  going  on  for  centuries,  the  final  addition  of  the 
spiritual  element  over  and  above  all  that  man  could 
achieve  for  himself  by  the  exercise  of  his  unaided  powers.* 

*  Of  course  we  speak  here,  not  of  the  nature  of  the  religious  millennium,  not 
of  its  internal  qualities,  but  of  its  external  characteristic — that  it  is  a  period  of 
the  reign  of  religion,  following  the  development  of  natural  truth.  In  its  in- 
ternal details,  it  may  be  a  period  when  man  shall  act  on  religious  moth 
extent  altogether  inconceivable  in  the  present  day.  But  in  its  charcter,  as  a 
fact,  it  appears  to  be  the  last  final  termination  of  the  progress  that  man  can 
make  on  earth.  It  is.  in  fact,  the  completion  of  human  evolution.  And  the 
completion  of  human  evolution  takes  place  logically,  whenever  the  human 
race  acts  systematically  under  the  influence  of  the  highest  sentiments  of 
human  nature.  Whenever  the  highest  sentiments  of  human  nature  are  syste- 
matically the  springs  of  human  action,  man  has  completed  his  possible  pro- 
gress, he  has  fulfilled  his  destiny  (we  do  not  say  his  duty),  he  can  rise  no  higher, 
he  can  do  no  more,  until  the  Creator,  renewing  man's  spiritual  nature,  and 
abolishing  the  evil  character  of  the  desires,  shall  emancipate  the  soul  from  sin, 
and  restore  the  freedom  that  was  lost  by  man's  transgression,  and  repurchased 
by  the  merits  of  the  Divine  Redeemer. 


THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION.         >23l 

And  when  we  reflect  that  Scripture  confines  itself  to  that 
spiritual  element  alone,  we  need  not  be  surprised  that 
the  millennium,  as  there  presented,  should  appear  much 
more  isolated  than  it  could  possibly  be  in  reality  from  all 
those  improvements  in  man's  terrestrial  condition,  which 
could  not  fail  to  accompany  the  universal  prevalence  of 
Christian  piety. 

A  millennium,  then,  is  a  condition  of  society  in  which 
man  shall  evolve  the  maximum  of  good  by  acting  cor- 
rectly. And  man  can  act  correctly  only  where  he  has 
acquired  knowledge.  If,  then,  we  have  a  scheme,  accord- 
ing to  which  knowledge  must  be  acquired,  we  have  the 
means  of  estimating  the  order  in  which  the  natural 
portions  of  the  millennium  must  be  successively  un- 
folded. 

"Knowledge  is  power,"  power  to  turn  the  earth  to 
better  and  better  account;  and  thereby  continually  to 
improve  the  condition  of  man  upon  the  globe.  The 
moment,  then,  we  ascertain  the  order  in  which  knowledge 
must  be  acquired,  we  learn  the  scheme  of  human  im- 
provement, and  ascertain  the  general  outline  of  his 
course,  in  his  passage  from  ignorance,  poverty,  and  de- 
pravity, towards  knowledge,  prosperity,  and  virtuous 
action . 

All  that  we  have  professed  to  do,  was  to  point  out  the 
probability  of  a  political  millennium ;  that  is,  we  have 
endeavored  to  show,  that  if  man  progress  in  future,  ac- 
cording to  the  scheme  that  has  regulated  his  past  pro- 
gress, there  will  come  a  time  when  political  truth  shall 
be  discovered,  acknowledged,  and  reduced  to  practical 
operation. 

But  to  confine  ourselves  to  this  view  alone,  would  be 
to  take  a  very  limited  survey  of  the  course  and  mechan- 
ism of  human  improvement. 

A  political  millennium  will  come,  but  it  will  come  only 
because  it  forms  a  portion  of  the  still  greater  scheme  of 


232         THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION, 

human  improvement, — of  the  more  general  millennium, 
that  involves  all  human  knowledge  and  all  human  opera- 
tion. 

The  natural  millennium,  whose  probability  we  maintain 
to  be  within  the  reach  of  human  computation,  although 
more  especially  to  be  desired  in  the  region  of  politics, 
extends  equally  to  all  the  sciences,  and  to  every  depart- 
ment of  man's  systematic  action.  Nor  could  a  political 
millennium  take  place  without  being  preceded  by  certain 
knowledge  and  certain  conditions,  independent  it  is  true 
of  political  science,  but  necessarily  anterior  and  prepara- 
tory to  the  complete  evolution  of  a  reign  of  justice. 

When  we  reflect  that  the  essence  of  a  millennium  is, 
"  truth  discovered  and  carried  into  practical  operation," 
we  have  generalized  a  term  applied  in  Scripture  to  a 
period  when  religious  truth  should  be  discovered,  ac- 
knowledged, and  reduced  to  practical  operation. 

Consequently,  wherever  we  have  truth  discovered  and 
carried  into  practical  operation,  we  have  a  millennium  in 
that  department  of  knowledge. 

Therefore,  the  past  history  of  human  progress  must 
supply  us  with  the  beginnings  of  the  natural  millen- 
nium ;  and  these  beginnings  we  must  look  for  in  the 
sciences  that  have  been  already  discovered  and  reduced 
to  practice. 

Let  it  never  be  forgotten  that  there  is  but  one  truth, 
and  all  truth  is  the  expression  of  the  divine  wisdom,  and 
the  revelation  of  the  divine  character  and  will.  All  truth 
is  in  fact  divine.  There  is  not  one  Deity  of  Scripture, 
and  another  Deity  of  Nature.  Nor  can  we  for  a  moment 
coincide  with  that  kind  of  separation,  which  some  appear 
anxious  to  establish,  between  the  revelation  in  words 
and  the  revelation  in  realities.  Both  are  expressions  of 
the  divine  intentions,  both  are  revelations  of  our  Creator, 
both  are  intended  for  our  guidance  and  instruction,  and 
both  are  capable  of  enlightening  man,  although  not  in 


THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION.         233 

the  same  department,  nor  to  the  same  extent.  Admit- 
ting all  that  scriptural  theology  can  teach,  there  is  still  a 
revelation  through  nature,  which  we  may  neglect,  it  is 
true,  but  which  we  can  only  neglect  to  our  own  detri- 
ment, as  it  is  the  expression  of  divine  wisdom,  manifest- 
ing itself  through  actual  works,  and  displaying  before 
our  eyes  the  real  exemplification  of  the  abstract  princi- 
ples which,  by  the  same  hand,  had  been  impressed  upon 
our  reason. 

All  science  therefore  is  divine,  and  divine,  not  in  the 
sense  of  pantheism,  but  in  the  sense  of  its  being  the  correl- 
ative object  created  in  harmony  with  the  human  reason. 
Science  is  the  object  of  reason,  and  reality  is  the  object  of 
science ;  and  both  reason  and  reality  are  the  productions 
of  the  divine  Creator. 

Error  and  superstition  are  human;  they  belong  to  fallen 
humanity;  they  are  not  divine;  they  form  no  part  of  the 
original  constitution  of  the  earth ;  they  are  darkness,  not 
light.  But  true  knowledge  is  God's  intention ;  for  that 
purpose  the  intellect  of  man  was  made.  Reason,  on  the 
one  hand,  and  reality  on  the  other,  are  the  correlatives  of 
creation,  and  science  is  the  middle  term  that  unites  them  ; 
reality  giving  the  matter  of  science,  and  reason  giving  the 
form.  Knowledge,  therefore,  is  the  divine  intention ; 
and  all  the  sciences  may  be  viewed,  not  as  human  acqui- 
sitions, but  as  fulfilments  of  the  divine  purpose  in  creating 
an  intellect  to  comprehend,  and  an  object  to  be  compre- 
hended. Religion  in  the  individual  may  exist  without  a 
particle  of  science ;  but  can  it  be  maintained,  for  a  mo- 
ment, that  the  race  of  man  can  reach  its  highest  condition, 
and  achieve  its  highest  destiny,  without  becoming  ac- 
quainted with  those  natural  truths  in  which  practical 
consequences  of  the  most  important  kind  are  necessarily 
implicated? 

Let  us,  then,  conclude  that  all  scientific  truth  is  divine 
(or,  if  that  term  appear  too  strong,  let  us  say  that  all  scien- 


234         THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION. 

tific  truth  is  the  natural  intention  of  the  Creator  of  our 
system),  that  it  is  the  intellect  of  the  creature  apprehending 
correctly  the  divine  arrangements  of  the  created.  Natural 
science  is  the  apprehension  of  the  divine  wisdom  and 
power,  as  St.  Paul  himself  teaches  us,  —  "For  the  invisible 
things  of  him  from  the  creation  of  the  world  are  clearly 
seen,  being  understood  by  the  things  that  are  made,  even 
his  eternal  power  and  Godhead  ;  so  that  they  are  without 
excuse  :  because  that,  when  they  knew  God,  they  glorified 
him  not  as  God,  neither  were  thankful  ;  but  became  vain 
in  their  imaginations,  and  their  foolish  heart  was  dark- 
ened." —  Epistle  to  Romans,  1st  chapter. 

Immediately,  then,  that  we  admit  science  to  be  not 
merely  human,  science  acquires  a  new  character.  It  be- 
comes the  exponent  of  humanity,  and  points  out  the  order 
of  human  progression.  We  have  here  a  sure  basis  of  oper- 
ation, a  foundation  on  which  the  reason  may  at  last  rest 
in  constructing  its  philosophy  of  man.  Science  is  stable. 
It  shifts  not  with  opinion,  and  changes  not  with  lapse  of 
ages.  Were  all  knowledge  obliterated,  and  man  to  begin 
to-morrow  a  new  course  of  research,  he  could  come  only 
to  the  same  truths  and  to  the  same  sciences  ;  and  those 
sciences  would  evolve  in  a  similar  order,  were  the  experi- 
ment to  take  place  a  hundred  or  a  thousand  times. 


SECTION    II.  -  THE     INFLUENCE     OF     SCIENCE     ON 
TEERESTRIAL  CONDITION. 

Admitting,  then,  the  divinity  of  science,  in  so  far  as 
science  has  been  really  ascertained,  we  revert  to  its  con- 
nection with  man's  practical  function,  and  inquire  how  the 
dogma  of  knowledge  is  efficient  to  produce  an  amended 
condition  of  man  upon  the  globe. 

Every  science  has  a  millennium  ;  that  is,  a  period  when 
its  truths  are  discovered,  acknowledged,  and  carried  into 
practical  operation. 


THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION.         235 

First  come  the  mathematical  sciences.  These,  as  mere 
exercises  of  the  intellect,  are  by  no  means  of  a  high  char- 
acter. They  are  little  more,  in  fact,  than  mechanical 
reasonings,  mere  methods  of  computation  performed  by 
the  aid  of  signs.  The  discovery  of  the  methods  has,  no 
doubt,  called  forth  some  of  the  highest  exercises  of  human 
genius ;  but  genius  looks  beyond  the  mere  computation 
of  numbers,  quantities,  and  spaces. 

When  we  turn,  however,  to  the  application  of  the  mathe- 
matical sciences,  their  influence  in  enlightening  man- 
kind is  of  the  very  highest  order.  Identity,  equality,  num- 
ber, quantity,  space,  and  force,  mere  abstractions  of  the 
reason,  become  fundamental  elements  of  knowledge,  by 
which  the  observed  realities  of  nature  are  made  to  function 
in  man's  intelligent  apprehension.  Sensational  observa- 
tion furnishes  only  the  very  smallest  part  even  of  physical 
science.  Strictly  speaking,  observation  furnishes  only  a 
momentary  image  or  impression,  or  a  succession  of  mo- 
mentary images  or  impressions.  Xo  man  ever  observed 
motion.  lie  observes  successively  in  time  material  sub- 
stantives in  successive  positions  in  space;  but  the  motion 
he  never  did  observe  and  never  can  observe.  Let  material- 
ist s  or  sensationalists  reason,  as  they  may,  they  cannot  tell 
what  physical  properties  motion  has.  It  has  no  color,  no 
taste,  no  smell,  no  sound  ;  it  cannot  be  felt  or  appreciated 
by  the  senses,  and  to  the  sensationalist  it  has  no  existence. 
It  is  a  word  he  has  no  right  to  use  ;  but  use  it  he  must, 
and  in  so  doing  he  borrows  it  from  the  intellectualist.* 
And  so  with  force.  Force  is  inappreciable  by  sense. 
Sense  never  saw  force,  never  felt  it,  and  never  can  assign 
one  single  sensational  property  to  it.  It  is  posited  by  the 

*  It  is  one  of  the  changes  which  the  reason  includes  in  the  general  law  (neces- 
sary form  of  thought).  •'  Every  change  must  have  a  cause."  This  is  the  con- 
diti  >n  under  which  man  thinks.  He  may  deny  the  proposition,  or  mystify  it, 
from  his  inability  to  appreciate  mental  phenomena  ;  but  it  is  as  much  a  con- 
dition of  his  thought  while  engaged  in  the  denial,  as  it  is  while  engaged  in  its 
admission.  In  mechanics,  the  change  is  motion,  the  cause  is  force. 


236         THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION. 

reason ;  and,  the  moment  we  become  sensationalists,  we 
should  drop  the  word  and  the  concept  as  chimeras  of 
human  invention.  And,  in  so  doing,  we  must  drop  the 
science  of  dynamics.  No  greater  absurdity  was  ever  im- 
posed on  man,  nothing  was  ever  more  frantically  credu- 
lous, nothing  that  the  wildest  superstition  ever  raged  in 
its  most  intense  moments  of  insane  imagination,  was  more 
utterly  contrary  to  man's  universal  experience,  and  man's 
universal  reason,  than  the  attribution  of  all  man's  knowl- 
edge to  sense.  Nor  can  we  approve  of  those  arguments 
which  drag  the  question  into  the  region  of  theology.  That 
is  not  its  region.  The  battle  cannot  be  fought  there  till 
won  in  another  field.  It  must  be  fought  as  a  question  of 
philosophy,  in  the  region  of  dynamics ;  for  if  once  we  sub- 
stantiate power,  and  can  show  a  science  of  force,  and  per- 
form with  that  science  of  force  rational  operations  whose 
conclusions  are  verified  in  nature,  and  predict  by  its  aid 
far-off  truths  only  to  occur  in  reality  years  after  the  ra- 
tional calculation  has  been  made,  we  have  grounded  the 
validity  .of  the  reason,  and  proven  beyond  dispute  its  un- 
doubted right  to  substantiate  things  hidden  from  sense, 
and  forever  beyond  the  reach  of  sensational  apprehension.* 
But  if  sense  furnish  so  little  in  a  science,  mind  must 
furnish  all  that  is  not  mere  momentary  impression;  and 
the  rational  operations  of  mind,  applied  to  the  material 
realities  of  nature,  are  expressed  in  the  mathematical 
sciences  when  they  are  brought  to  bear  on  physical  nature, 
and  to  lend  the  aid  of  their  computing  power  to  system- 
atize the  impressions  of  the  senses.  Number,  quantity, 
space,  and  force  (essentially  non-physical  concepts),  are 
absolutely  necessary  for  the  formation  of  physical  science ; 
and  all  the  observations  that  man  could  make  would  be 
forever  dog's  views  of  nature,  were  it  not  for  the  intro- 

*  "The  most  certain  method  that  can  guide  us  in  the  research  of  truth  con- 
sists in  rising,  by  induction,  from  phenomena  to  laws,  and  from  laws  to  forces." 
—Laplace,  Essai  Philosophique  sur  les  Probabilites. 


THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION.        237 

duction  of  those  rational  elements  which  tear  the  veil 
from  the  world  of  matter,  and  lay  bare  the  mysteries  of 
its  divine  arrangement. 

When  man  has  evolved  the  mathematical  sciences  and 
dynamics,  he  has  acquired  a  vast  power  over  the  world 
of  matter ;  not  merely  a  power  of  intellectual  apprehen- 
sion, but,  over  and  above,  a  power  of  action, — a  power  to 
perform  things  which  react  intensely  on  his  own  social 
condition,  and  place  him  on  "an  entirely  different  footing 
as  regards  his  relations  to  the  material  universe.  His 
observations,  without  the  mathematical  sciences,  go  for 
little  or  nothing.  He  can  neither  number,  nor  measure, 
nor  compute ;  and  without  measurement  his  observations 
are  mere  sensations. 

We  shall  remark  only  one  or  two  of  the  effects  of  the 
mathematical  sciences.  The  first  great  achievement,  and 
one  whose  importance  to  the  world  is  beyond  all  human 
calculation,  is  "  the  determination  of  the  physical  char- 
acter of  man's  home  or  residence  in  space."  Astronomy 
and  general  geography  are  the  results.  Now,  passing 
over  all  that  could  be  called  mere  knowledge,  let  us  look 
to  two  practical  effects,  which  forever  place  the  practical 
influence  of  the  mathematical  sciences  on  man's  condition, 
altogether  beyond  the  power  of  question, — navigation  and 
the  measurement  of  time.  Navigation  is  possible  without 
astronomical  observation,  or  at  least  with  the  very  rudest 
elements  of  observation.  The  Northmen  were  no  doubt 
in  the  habit  of  sailing  to  America  (Vinland)  five  hundred 
years  before  Columbus ;  and  that  they  navigated  all  the 
European  seas,  from  Iceland  to  Italy,  is  proven  by  abun- 
dant evidence.  But  what  comparison  can  be  established 
between  such  navigation,  and  that  which  now  is  one  of 
the  most  powerful  of  all  agents  for  the  civilization  of  the 
earth  ?  Such  navigation  was  an  adventure,  not  an  oc- 
cupation. And  the  wonder  is,  how  even  the  boldest, 
hardiest,  and  most  daring  of  all  races  should  have  under- 


238         THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION. 

taken  such  enterprises.  No  one  can  for  a  moment  believe, 
that  such  navigation  as  now  takes  place  could  possibly 
have  arisen  without  a  knowledge  of  astronomy  and  geog- 
raphy, or  could  possibly  be  continued  were  the  astro- 
nomical elements  to  be  dropped.  The  navigation  of  the 
Northmen  was  an  adventure,  and  it  ceased  because  it  was- 
an  adventure.  It  had  no  systematic  knowledge  at  the 
bottom  of  it,  showing  how  the  thing  that  had  been  done 
once  could  be  done  again.  It  passed  away,  and  even  the 
discovery  of  the  western  continent,  with  which  they  had 
traded,  was  all  but  forgotten.  But  can  any  one  suppose, 
that  so  long  as  the  present  knowledge  remains,  naviga- 
tion could  again  cease,  or  be  confined  to  coasting  expedi- 
tions? Were  all  the  ships  in  the  world  destroyed,  a  few 
years  only  could  elapse  before  the  ensign  of  England 
would  wave  in  the  breeze  of  every  navigable  latitude; 
and  the  speedy  reparation  of  the  great  catastrophe  would 
only  show  the  power  that  man  has  acquired  from  knowl- 
edge. Between  the  navigation  of  former  times  and  the 
navigation  of  the  present  day,  there  is  much  the  same 
difference  that  there  is  between  Alexander's  expedition 
to  India  and  the  unromantic  overland  journey,  reduced 
to  a  monthly  question  of  pounds,  shillings,  and  pence. 

Closely  connected  with  navigation,  and  extending  its 
influence  throughout  all  civilized  society,  is  the  measure- 
ment of  time.  The  measurement  of  time  is  in  fact  the 
measurement  of  the  motions  of  the  heavenly  bodies.  The 
firmament  in  one  sense  is  a  great  clock,  with  a  very  sin- 
gular dial,  and  a  very  curious  method  of  notation.  Let 
it  stop,  and  all  means  of  measuring  time  accurately,  and 
of  being  sure  that  our  measurements  are  correct,  fade 
away  forever.  And  who  can  estimate  the  practical  influ- 
ence on  the  world  of  the  measurement  of  time  ? 

Geography,  astronomy,  the  measurement  of  time,  and 
systematic  navigation,  laid  the  foundation  for  the  general 
civilization  of  the  world.  And  one  circumstance  we  may 


THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION.        239 

remark  connected  with  ocean  locomotion — the  most  ad- 
vanced nations  in  the  world  will  always  be  those  who 
navigate  the  most ;  and,  consequently,  advancement,  im- 
provement, civilization,  knowledge,  and  art,  will  always 
be  disseminated  through  navigation.  No  instance  can  be 
adduced  of  barbarous  nations  navigating  to  a  great  extent, 
while  at  the  same  time  more  advanced  nations  did  not 
navigate.  Those  who  have  navigated  in  all  ages  have 
been  those  who  were  full  of  life,  energy,  resolution,  and 
progress.  The  advanced  nations  are  the  goers,  the  less 
advanced  nations  are  the  stayers  at  home.  Sloth  and 
barbarism  are  essentially  stationary;  energy  and  civil- 
ization are  essentially  expansive,  cosmopolitan,  and  pro- 
gressive. One  circumstance  alone  shows  us  that  naviga- 
tion is  essential  to  the  regeneration  of  the  earth.  The 
one  true  religion  never  could  be  propagated  throughout 
the  world,  as  there  is  no  doubt  it  will  be  at  some  future 
period,  without  navigation. 

But  to  what  does  man  owe  geography,  astronomy,  the 
measurement  of  time,  and  systematic  navigation  ?  To  the 
application  of  the  mathematical  sciences  to  the  observed 
conditions  of  material  nature. 

Now,  although  the  term  may  be  new,  and  by  some  may 
be  considered  objectionable,  we  do  not  hesitate  to  speak  of 
a  mathematical  millennium.  A  mathematical  millennium 
takes  place  when  mathematical  truth  is  discovered,  and 
reduced  to  practical  operation.  Mathematical  science  is 
the  foundation  of  man's  intellectual  and  practical  progress, 
and  the  region  of  mathematics  is  the  first  region  in  which 
a  natural  millennium  takes  place.  Without  mathematics 
we  have  no  astronomy,  no  geography,  no  measurement  of 
time,  and  no  systematic  navigation,  worthy  of  the  name. 
That  is,  we  have  in  those  departments  ignorance  or 
superstition,  instead  of  knowledge. 

Next  to  a  mathematical  millennium  is  a  mechanical 
millennium.  And  here  we  leave  the  knowledge,  and  turn 


240         THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION. 

only  to  the  action,  and  to  the  consequent  condition  of  man. 
The  mathematical  sciences  are  absolutely  essential  to  the 
evolution  of  mechanics,  and  mechanical  knowledge  is 
absolutely  necessary  to  enable  man  to  turn  the  earth  to 
the  best  account.  One  of  the  first  great  spheres  of  me- 
chanical operation  is  "  locomotion."  The  mathematical 
sciences  teach  men  how  to  navigate,  in  what  direction  to 
go,  how  to  make  maps  and  charts,  how  to  determine  the 
locality  of  towns,  capes,  reefs,  ships,*  etc.,  etc.  But  the 
mathematical  sciences  do  not  teach  how  to  make  ships. 
They  help,  but  they  do  not  complete.  The  properties  of 
matter  are  involved,  and  these  must  be  ascertained  by 
observation. 

The  improvement  of  locomotion  is  one  of  the  first  essen- 
tials in  the  progression  of  mankind,  and  we  might  almost 
measure  the  relative  advancement  of  nations  by  the  con- 
dition of  their  means  of  locomotion.  Advantages  of 
the  highest  importance  to  man's  intellectual  and  moral 
welfare  are  involved  in  facilitating  locomotion,  and  every 
obstacle  placed  by  governments  in  the  way  of  perfectly 
free  locomotion,  is  a  barrier  erected  to  defer  the  advance 
of  civilization.  It  is  a  clog  placed  by  ignorant  despotism 
on  the  emancipation  of  mankind,  not  merely  from  political 
thraldom,  but  also  from  natural  ignorance  and  natural 
degradation.  It  is  a  crime,  not  merely  against  the  indi- 
vidual, but  against  humanity  itself.  And  whoever  has 
the  power,  has  the  most  undoubted  right  to  break  down 
every  such  barrier  as  a  duty  to  his  race.  Political 
freedom,  in  this  respect,  however,  is  not  the  only  essential ; 
we  must  also  have  the  mechanical  facility.* 

*  While  mentioning  locomotion,  it  is  perhaps  impossible  to  refrain  from  re- 
membering the  late  Mr.  Waghorn  (with  whose  name  the  title  of  lieutenant 
appears  like  that  of  exciseman  in  connection  with  the  name  of  one  Robert 
Burns),  as  brave  a  heart,  and  as  true  a  genius,  as  England  has  seen  for  many  a 
long  day.  Mr.  Waghorn  was  the  Napoleon  of  communication  ;  and  when  those 
who  did  not  reward  him  have  been  long  forgotten,  his  name  will  appear  as  one 
of  those  heroes  to  whom  the  world  owes  its  progress.  It  is  sickening  to  think 
that  Waghorn  should  have  died  as  he  did,  overborne  by  the  material  cares  of 


THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION.         241 

Let  us  consider  that  the  earth,  as  constituted,  permits 
only  of  locomotion  under  certain  conditions.  It  is  possi- 
ble for  man  to  have  a  maximum  of  locomotive  facility. 
A  certain  speed  will  be  found  beyond  which  we  lose 
in  safety,  and  below  which  we  lost  in  celerity  without 
gaining  in  safety.  And  this  applies  to  all  systems  of 
locomotion.  The  problem,  then,  is  to  discover  the  best 
system  ;  that  which  combines  the  maximum  of  celerity 
with  the  minimum  of  danger.  And  when  we  have  made 
as  near  an  approach  to  this  as  the  circumstances  of  the 
earth  permit  of,  we  have  a  locomotive  millennium.* 

All  engineering  is  nothing  more  than  the  application 
of  mathemathics  and  mechanics  to  the  world  of  matter. 
Roads,  bridges,  canals,  ships,  harbors,  docks,  railroads, 
tunnels,  steam-engines,  steam-vessels,  steam-locomotives, 
etc.,  etc.,  are  the  products  of  mathematics  and  mechanics. 
Man,  with  these,  is  man  armed  with  the  powers  of  nature. 
He  has  vanquished  his  opponent,  and  enlisted  her  forces 
in  his  service.  Matter  is  no  longer  the  object  that  opposes 
him,  but  the  arsenal  from  which  he  draws  his  weapons 
and  his  stores.  Coal  and  water  become  concentrated 
forces,  whose  powers  he  may  develop  and  control  for  the 
extension  of  his  dominion  over  nature,  and  for  the  im- 
provement of  his  terrestrial  condition.  One  single  steam- 
engine  constructed  by  mankind,  is  of  more  real  impor- 

this  life ;  but  when  prime  ministers,  and  first  lords  of  the  admiralty,  and 
chartered  East  India  Companies,  shall  be  mere  matters  of  history,  the  name  of 
Waghorn  will  appear  with  those  of  Eric  the  Red,  and  Marco  Paolo,  and  Christo- 
pher Columbus,  and  Richard  Chancellor,  and  La  Salle,  and  Brindley,  and  Watt, 
and  Telford,  and  those  other  heroes  who  have  bequeathed  the  world's  good,  by 
stamping  the  impress  of  their  genius  on  the  destinies  of  humanity.  To  think 
that  the  wealth  of  England  should  have  bowed  before  a  Hudson,  and  brought 
rich  offerings  to  the  shrine  of  pampered  sycophancy,  and  yet  should  have  seen 
a  brave  man  end  as  did  Waghorn,  when  a  few  thousands  might  have  gladdened 
the  last  days  of  the  intrepid  Englishman  !— But  enough,  he  will  not  be  for- 
gotten. 

*  Letters,  newspapers,  etc..  are  entirely  dependent  on  the  means  of  locomo- 
tion ;  and  who  can  possibly  estimate  the  influence  of  postal  communications 
on  the  civilization  and  advancement  of  mankind  ?  But  even  the  prodigies  of 
steam  hnve  been  eclipsed  by  the  electric  telegraph. 

16 


242         TEE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION. 

tance  than  all  the  powers  of  Koine,  and  one  single 
printing-press  than  all  the  arts  of  Greece.  They  are 
powers,  prodigious  powers,  placed  at  man's  disposal. 
They  are  products  of  the  reason ;  and  just  as  reason  learns 
to  see  further  and  further  into  the  processes  of  nature,  so 
does  man  acquire  new  power  for  extracting  welfare  from 
the  earth. 

Again,  man  makes  a  few  observations  on  the  phenom- 
ena of  light;  these  he  geometiizes.  He  makes  a  few 
observations  on  the  power  of  various  substances  to  modify 
the  phenomena ;  and  what  is  the  result  ?  He  produces 
the  telescope,  which  extends  his  vision  to  a  distance  alto- 
gether inconceivable — and  the  microscope,  which  reveals 
the  minute  operations  of  organic  nature.* 

And  if  we  turn  to  chemistry,  shall  we  find  the  practical 
effects  of  science  one  atom  less  important,  or  one  atom, 
less  remarkable?  What  are  the  metals,  and  where  do 
they  come  from  ?  What  is  gas  ?  that  great  moralizer  of 
modern  cities,  more  powerful  than  all  police  could  be. 
Mechanics  and  chemistry  furnish  us  with  an  endless 
variety  of  substances,  and  an  endless  variety  of  produc- 
tions, all  tending  to  give  man  more  power,  more  leisure, 
more  comfort — to  make  him,  in  fact,  more  free,  and  to 
elevate  his  position  on  the  globe.  Instead  of  being  the 
slave  of  physical  nature,  science  will  make  man  its  master, 
as  the  Creator  intended  hiai  to  be  when  he  gave  him  an 
earthly  dominion. 

*  "  In  order  to  enumerate  only  a  few  of  the  instruments  whose  invention 
characterizes  great  ephocs  in  the  history  of  civilization,  I  would  name  the 
telescope,  and  its  too  long-delayed  connection  with  instruments  of  measure- 
ment— the  compound  miscroscope,  which  furnishes  us  with  the  means  of  t  rac- 
ing the  conditions  of  the  process  of  development  of  organs,  which  Aristotle 
gracefully  designates  as  '  the  formative  activity  of  the  source  of  being  '—the 
compass,  and  the  different  contrivances  invented  for  measuring  terrestrial  mag- 
netism—the use  of  the  pendulum  as  a  measure  of  time— the  barometer— the 
thermometer— hygrometric  and  electrometric  apparatuses— and  the  polari- 
scope,  in  its  application  to  the  phenomena  of  colored  polarization  in  the  light  of 
the  stars,  or  in  luminous  regions  of  the  atmosphere."— Humboldt's 
p.  473. 


THE  THEORY  OF  J7CT3/^LV  PROGRESSION.         243 

Electricity,  again,  has  already  achieved  its  wonders; 
and  though  we  may  expect  many  more  practical  effects, 
we  have  enough  to  prove  that  this  science,  which  some 
years  since  was  a  plaything,  is  a  mighty  agent  that  endows 
man  with  power  which,  even  a  century  since,  would  have 
been  regarded  as  indubitably  magical.  The  very  cir- 
cumstance that  man  can  now  communicate  with  man 
almost  instantaneously,  although  separated  by  the  breadth 
of  a  kingdom,  ought  to  teach  us  that  time  and  space,  the 
former  tyrants  of  mankind,  may  be  overcome  by  means 
whose  simplicity  is,  at  least,  as  extraordinary  as  their 
power. 

Nor,  if  we  turn  to  vegetable  physiology,  are  the  prac- 
tical effects  that  the  advance  of  knowledge  entails  for 
man's  benefit  one  hair's-breadth  less  extraordinary.  A 
few  observations  are  made  on  the  growth  of  plants,  on  the 
disposition  of  the  soils,  on  the  effect  of  moisture,  and  on 
the  relation  of  surface-water  to  the  productions  of  the 
agriculturist.  Certain  reasonings  are  made,  and  certain 
experiments,  to  prove  whether  the  reasonings  are  correct. 
The  practical  result  at  last  is  a  general  system  of  drain- 
age, which  transforms  wretched  pastures  into  fertile  corn- 
fields, and  in  many  cases  doubles,  trebles,  and  quadruples 
the  value  of  the  produce.  To  countries  like  England, 
Scotland,  and  Ireland,  the  practical  importance  of  this 
draining  system  is  immense.  These  countries  have, 
within  themselves,  an  almost  indefinite  power  of  creating 
agricultural  wealth ;  and,  so  far  from  being  in  danger  of 
a  superabundant  population,  they  could  in  ten  years,  with 
a  tenth  part  of  the  annual  expenditure  of  the  kingdom  on 
unnecessary  armaments,  so  outrun  the  increase  of  the 
population,  that  it  would  be  unnecessary  to  import  one 
single  grain  of  corn.  Far  more  than  this  is  within  the 
limit  of  possibility,  and  it  is  only  necessary  to  ascertain 
the  progress  made  by  Scotland  within  the  memory  of  the 
present  generation  of  agriculturists,  to  be  convinced  that 


244          THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION. 

the  natural  capabilities  of  the  soil  of  Britain  are  abun- 
dantly sufficient  for  all  its  inhabitants ;  and  that  the  true 
reason  why  the  population  increases  more  rapidly  than 
the  food,  is  to  be  found,  not  in  the  laws  of  God, 
but  in  the  political  laws  which  have  made  such  a 
disposition  of  the  soil  as  absolutely  prevents  it  from 
being  turned  to  account.  Under  the  present  system 
of  land  occupancy,  combined  with  labor-taxation,  want 
and  starvation  are  the  natural  consequences.  They  may 
excite  compassion,  but  they  need  excite  no  wonder.  And 
until  the  present  system  is  broken  up,  root  and  branch,  and 
buried  in  oblivion,  the  laboring  population  of  Britain  and 
Ireland  must  reap  the  fruits  of  a  system  that  first  allo- 
cates all  the  soil  to  thirty  or  forty  thousand  proprietors, 
and  then  places  the  heaviest  taxation  in  the  world  on  the 
mass  of  the  inhabitants.  Let  any  man  inquire  of  the  Scot- 
tish agriculturists,  the  greatest  landlord- worshippers  in 
Europe,  what  is  the  reason  that  the  improvement  of  the 
soil  does  not  go  on  more  rapidly  and  more  generally. 
The  answer,  we  have  invariably  found,  attributes  the  evil 
to  the  political  tenure  of  land.  The  agriculturists  could 
produce  more  corn.*  Every  one  of  them,  except  in  a  few 
small  districts  where  the  land  is  up  to  its  pitch  of  pro- 
duction, will  attest  to  this  fact.  They  could  make  more 
food,  more  wheat,  more  oats,  more  turnips,  heavier 
sheep,  more  and  better  wool,  etc.,  etc.  And  they  would 
do  so,  both  for  their  own  profit,  and  from  a  spirit  of 
emulation  generated  by  the  rapid  improvements  already i 
achieved.  But  they  cannot  do  so ;  and  the  country, 
which  allowed  the  crown  to  alienate  the  soil,  must  be 
content  to  see  it  half  cultivated,  and  to  depend  for  sup- 
plies on  distant  lands.  They  cannot  improve,  because, 
although  the  improvements  would  pay,  and  pay  abun- 
dantly, in  the  first  place  they  have  not  the  capital  to 

*  See  Mr.  Caird's  Pamphlet  on  "High  Farming." 


THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION.         245 

execute  the  improvements  at  the  commencement  of  their 
lease,  and,  in  the  second,  it  is  absurd  for  them  to  make 
permanent  improvements  during  the  currency  of  a  lease, 
the  only  effect  of  which  would  be  (and  as  a  fact,  often  is), 
that  at  the  end  of  the  lease  the  legal  landlord  would  let 
the  land,  with  its  improvements,  by  auction.  Their 
improvements  would  be  put  up  to  auction,  the  only  dif- 
ference being,  that  the  biddings  are  written  instead  of 
spoken.  And  unless  they  will  give  more  rent  for  their 
own  improvements  than  any  other  person  will  give,  they 
are  turned  out  of  the  land,  and,  in  many  instances,  carry 
their  skill  and  capital  to  far  distant  countries.  The  diffi- 
culties are  neither  with  the  soil,  nor  the  climate,  nor  the 
price  of  produce.  They  all  hinge  on  the  political  arrange- 
ment that  the  law  has  made  with  regard  to  the  soil  and 
its  tenure.  And  until  this  arrangement  is  destroyed,  the 
soil  never  can  produce  its  maximum.  The  evil  is  im- 
mensely aggravated,  it  is  true,  by  the  system  of  entail ; 
but  the  radical  evil,  the  grand  masterpiece  of  mischief, 
that  requires  to  be  corrected,  is  the  alienation  of  the  soil 
from  the  nation,  and  the  taxation  of  the  labor  of  the 
country. 

With  regard  to  draining  the  soil,  however,  a  new  scheme 
has  recently  been  carried  into  execution.  The  govern- 
ment taxes  the  population,  and  lends  the  money  to  the 
landlords  to  drain  the  soil.  The  landlords  are  to  pay  a 
certain  interest  and  quit-capital,  which  discharges  the 
debt  in  twenty-two  years.  This  percentage  the  farmer 
finds  to  be  less  than  the  profit  likely  to  accrue  from  the 
improvement  of  the  land,  and  he  agrees  to  pay  it  to  the 
landlord.  The  consequence  is,  that  the  country  has  been 
taxed  for  the  purpose  of  presenting  the  landlords  with  the 
clear  amount  of  improvement  at  the  end  of  twenty-two 
years.*  Such  is  the  wisdom  and  equity  of  British  (land- 
lord) legislation. 

*  Since  the  drainage  money  was  advanced  by  the  government,  advertise- 


'2-40        THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION. 

Notwithstanding  the  political  arrangements,  however, 
the  advantages  of  draining  are  of  the  highest  character. 
The  soil  improves,  the  climate  improves,  *  the  character 
and  condition  of  the  agriculturists  improve,  and  the 
amount  of  food  is  vastly  increased.  And  to  what  do  we 
owe  draining,  with  all  its  sterling  advantages  ?  To  nothing 
more  than  the  application  of  hydrodynamics  to  vegetable 
physiology.  This  is  its  scientific  character,  its  character 
as  a  product  of  human  ingenuity,  exercising  itself  on 
the  physical  world,  f 

It  will  scarcely  be  necessary  to  remark  the  power  of 
man  to  modify  the  animal  kingdom,  and  thereby  to  pro- 
duce those  animals  that  serve  him  better,  and  make  his 
position  more  advantageous.  The  horses,  cattle,  sheep, 
etc.,  of  Britain,  are  even  now  almost  artificial  races.  The 
difference  between  those  animals  as  they  are,  and  animals 
of  the  same  species  as  they  would  have  been  in  a  state  of 

ments  have  appeared  in  the  North  British  Advertiser,  in  which  the  landlord 
offers  to  drain  the  lands  on  the  payment  of  ten  per  cent,  per  annum  by  the 
tenant. 

*  "  Comment  en  serait-il  autrement  quand  les  belles  recherches  publices  par 
M.  Arago  dans  f  annuaire,  out  demontre  que  les  def  richements  et  les  grands 
travaux  agricoles  suffisaient  pour  diminuer  les  chaleurs  de  1'ete  et  les  rigueurs 
de  1'hiver,  et  peut  etre  meme  iufluer  sur  la  temperature  moyenne  de  tout  un 
royaume." —  Gavarret,  Principes  Generaux  de  Statistique  Medicale,  p,  182. 

t  Were  the  governors  of  England  open  to  any  scheme  that  would  permanent- 
ly improve  the  country,  without  being  made  a  job,  a  very  simple  means  is  at 
their  disposal.  Take  one  million  a  year  from  the  army  and  navy.  This  might 
be  done  without  impairing  the  real  security  of  the  country.  Let  this  money  !><> 
expended  on  drainage  and  permanent  improvements.  Let  it  be  lent  to  no  per- 
son in  the  first  place.  But  wherever  tenants  in  occupancy  were  willing  to  pay 
the  interest  of  the  money,  let  them  be  judges  under  inspection  what  drains  are 
requisite,  and  whether  they  are  properly  executed.  No  person  is  so  competent 
as  the  tenant  to  see  that  the  work  is  well  done,  where  his  interest  is  so  much 
involved.  When  the  drains  are  specified,  let  their  execution  be  done  by  con- 
tract. The  tenant  and  inspector  giving  their  certificate  that  the  land  is  prop- 
erly drained  according  to  bargain,  the  contractor  receives  his  money.  The 
difference  between  the  common  interest  of  money,  say  three  and  a  half  per 
cent.,  and  the  quit-percentage,  say  six  and  a  half  per  cent.,  to  be  paid  by  the 
landlord,  who  receives  the  permanent  benefit.  The  land  itself  to  be  account- 
able for  all  the  liabilities-.  This  scheme  would  prodigiously  increase  the  pro- 
duce of  the  country,  and,  as  the  land  is  so  little  taxed,  the  landlords  would  have 
no  right  to  complain.  With  a  landlord  legislature,  however,  we  fear  there  is 
but  little  chance  for  schemers  of  this  nature. 


THK  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION.         247 

nature,  is  the  product  of  human  ingenuity.  The  Durham 
ox,  or  the  Leicester  sheep,  is  in  one  sense  a  machine — a 
machine  for  the  manufacture  of  beef,  mutton,  fat,  and 
wool,  out  of  grass,  turnips,  and  oil-cakes.  The  improve- 
ment of  the  breed  is  exactly  a  similar  occupation  to  the 
improvement  of  a  cotton-mill,  or  the  improvement  of  the 
soil.  If  man  wants  more  corn  than  will  grow  naturally 
on  the  soil,  he  must  improve  the  soil,  drain  it,  manure  it, 
lime  it,  irrigate  it,  etc.  It  is  no  longer  the  same  soil,  it  is 
the  same  species,  but  a  different  variety  from  what  it  was 
originally.  Even  let  it  alone,  and  it  will  bear  a  different 
series  of  plants.  The  original  plants  die  out,  and  their 
place  is  taken  by  others  more  useful  to  man.  And  when 
man  sows  seed  of  a  certain  requisite  character,  he  reaps  a 
much  better  and  more  abundant  crop.  And  so  it  is  with 
a  sheep  or  a  bullock,  or  a  fowl.  Naturally  he  grows  wild, 
rough,  hardy,  and  takes  far  too  much  exercise  to  fatten. 
He  is  developed  in  those  parts  that  man  esteems  the  least, 
that  do  not  pay.  He  is  unmanageable,  has  his  own  way, 
runs,  jumps,  tears,  flies,  and  does  many  things  that  no 
doubt  amuse  himself,  but  that  do  not  recommend  him  as 
an  investment.  The  improved  animal,  on  the  contrary, 
is  quiet,  solemn,  fattens  well,  appears  to  understand  the 
end  of  his  existence,  and  takes  to  it  kindly ;  bears  beef, 
and  fat,  and  mutton,  and  wool,  to  the  very  best  of  his 
power,  and  seems  pleased  with  his  prosperity.  He  even 
learns  to  look  down  on  his  less  cultivated  companions,  and 
seems  thoroughly  imbued  with  a  quiet  sense  of  his  own 
superiority.  He  does  as  he  is  bid,  and  in  all  respects  is  a 
man-server.  lie  does  his  work,  and  receives  his  wages. 

The  improvements  that  have  hitherto  taken  place  in 
agriculture,  in  horticulture,  and  in  the  races  of  horses, 
cattle,  sheep,  and  the  other  domestic  animals,  are  the 
direct  results  of  empirical  physiology;  which  observes 
and  records  the  resulting  fact,  without  inquiring  into  the 
various  steps  of  the  process  by  which  the  fact  is  event- 


248         THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION. 

ually  produced.  The  empirical  physiologist  inquires, 
"  Does  the  earth  become  more  productive  by  the  applica- 
tion of  certain  substances  (called,  generically,  manures)  ? 
and  if  so,  What  are  the  relative  advantages  of  these  sub- 
stances, compared  among  themselves?"  The  scientific 
physiologist,  on  the  contrary,  inquires,  "In  what  manner 
does  the  earth  become  more  productive  by  the  application 
of  these  substances  ?  "  The  one  fixes  his  attention  on  the 
improvement  of  his  art;  the  other,  on  the  improvement 
of  his  knowledge.  The  one  endeavors  to  read  aright 
the  laws  of  the  practical  world,  and  to  apply  them  to 
his  use ;  the  other  endeavors  to  read  aright  the  con- 
struction of  the  material  world,  and  the  laws  by  which 
nature  carries  on  her  operations.  The  empiric  is  satisfied 
when  he  has  learned  the  mode  by  which  he  can  make  his 
bullocks  fatten  in  the  shortest  time  and  at  the  least  ex- 
pense; the  scientific  physiologist,  on  the  contrary,  is 
never  satisfied  till  he  has  traced  the  particles  of  food  from 
their  primary  prehension,  through  the  process  of  their 
assimilation,  to  their  ultimate  deposition  in  the  tissues. 
The  one  manipulates  a  mass,  and  endeavors  to  induce 
certain  final  consequences ;  the  other  attempts  to  seize  a 
primary  atom,  and  to  determine  the  laws  which  regulate 
its  evolution. 

Empirical  physiology  and  scientific  physiology  repre- 
sent two  great  methods,  whose  tendency  is  to  approach 
nearer  and  nearer  to  each  other,  and  finally  to  unite  in 
their  results.  The  former  commences  with  perhaps  a 
great  rude  fact,  plain  and  obvious,  and  as  far  as  possible 
removed  from  anything  that  would  be  called  science. 
This  fact,  perhaps,  might  be  merely  the  division  of  the 
year  into  its  two  great  seasons — summer  and  winter;  and 
the  observation  that  domestic  cattle  thrive  better  if 
housed  in  winter,  than  if  left  exposed  to  the  inclemency 
of  the  season.  This,  in  many  cases,  is  the  first  great  prac- 
tical step,  or  first  great  division,  which  is  gradually  to 


THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION.        249 

undergo  innumerable  subdivisions :  and  these  subdi- 
visions affecting  many  kinds  of  food  and  many  breeds  of 
animals,  at  last  evolve  a  complete  art,  whose  principles  are 
tolerably  well  ascertained.  Scientific  physiology,  on  the 
contrary,  commences  with  a  fact  as  far  distant  on  the  op- 
posite side  from  its  ultimate  application.  It  begins  with 
the  analysis  of  the  atmosphere,  with  the  mysteries  of  oxy- 
gen and  carbon,  with  theories  of  combustion,  with  what 
the  air  does  in  the  fire,  and  what  becomes  of  the  smoke. 
And  while  engaged  in  these  investigations,  it  knows  no 
more  of  the  process  by  which  bullocks  are  fattened  than 
the  bullocks  know  of  phlogiston.  In  course  of  time,  how- 
ever, it  improves  both  its  knowledge  and  its  method ;  it 
attacks  the  fat  itself,  and  begins  to  discourse  of  stearine, 
oleine,  etc. ;  and  also  begins  a  series  of  investigations  on 
the  process  of  respiration,  on  the  possible  modes  by  which 
animal  tissues  may  be  consumed,  and  on  the  conditions 
that  accelerate  or  retard  the  consumption.  This  is  the 
first  fibre  of  communication  shot  across  the  interval  which 
separates  empirical  from  scientific  physiology ;  and  though 
only  a  fibre,  it  is  like  the  ice  shooting  from  opposite  sides 
of  the  stream,  the  first  frail  forerunner  of  a  solid  communi- 
cation. Step  by  step  the  two  processes  go  on ;  the  one 
descending  into  details  more  and  more  artistically  minute ; 
the  other  departing  more  and  more  from  its  elementary 
compounds,  until  it  succeeds  at  last  in  constructing  a 
scheme  of  knowledge  which  shall  not  only  explain  the 
results,  but  serve  as  a  guide  for  the  evolution  of  a  correct 
systematic  practice.* 

*  The  difference  between  the  empirical  and  the  scientific  method  is  expressed 
with  logical  accuracy  as  follows  : — 

1.  The  empirical  method  manipulates  those  substantives  (in  any  particular 
course  of  inquiry)  which  present  the  greatest  comprehension. 

2.  The  scientific  method  manipulates  those  substances  which  present  the 
greatest  extension. 

Thus  an  animal  frame  comprehends  the  processes  of  combination,  decom- 
position, respiration,  the  development  of  heat,  etc.,  etc. ;  while  the  natural 
history  of  oxygen  or  carbon  extends  to  all  the  objects  in  which  oxygen  and 


250         THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION. 

And  when  once  the  two  methods  have  come  to  an  identity 
of  result  (as  they  have  in  some  of  the  mechanical  arts, 
and  as  they  may  soon  in  branches  of  physiology),  a  system 
of  truth  is  developed  for  the  world,  for  the  human  race, 
for  humanity  ;  not  merely  for  the  discoverers  and  im- 
provers, but  for  man  as  man,  for  the  human  being  tenant- 
ing the  world,  and  gradually  learning  to  read  aright  the 
universe,  or  cosmos,  in  which  he  finds  himself  placed. 
Man  has  made  a  new  acquisition,  and  this  new  acquisi- 
tion remains  a  permanent,  stable,  and  lasting  addition  to 
the  wealth  of  humanity. 

But  empirical  physiology  does  not  apply  merely  to  the 
organized  or  animated  objects  that  man  finds  surrounding 
him.  It  applies  to  himself,  and  to  the  material  conditions 
of  his  bodily  frame.  Of  all  animals  man  is  the  most 
subject  to  disease,  the  most  liable  to  be  cut  off  from  exist- 
ence before  his  body  has  passed  through  its  natural 
transformations,  and  at  last  sinks  exhausted  from  the 

carbon  are  comprehended,  although  that  natural  history  in  reality  compre- 
hends nothing  but  its  own  series  of  phenomena. 

The  antagonism  usually  set  forth  as  existing  between  the  inductive  and  the 
deductive  process  of  reasoning,  is  not  only  based  on  a  misunderstanding  of  the 
methods  of  pure  syllogistic,  but  absolutely  opposed  to  the  methods  which  are 
pursued  in  matters  of  induction.  There  is  really  only  one  process  of  reasoning, 
although  this  may  be  read  in  different  manners.  What  is  called  the  inductive 
process  of  reasoning  is  only  the  inductive  process  of  observing ;  and  when  the 
observations  are  made,  the  reasonings  are  all  made  by  the  same  process. 

Let  the  logician  apply  to  any  man  in  the  practical  departments  of  life,  and  he 
will  find  him  reasoning  from  a  major  premiss  ;  which  will  be  found  to  consist 
of  two  propositions,  and  not,  as  the  Baconians  affirm,  of  one,  which  has  been 
inferred  from  many  observations. 

For  instance : — 

Major. — In  every  case  that  I  have  given  this  food  to  my  cattle,  they  have 
thriven  well. 

Minor.— This  is  a  new  case,  in  which  I  give  the  same  food  to  my  cattle. 

Consequent.— Therefore  they  will  thrive  well  (the  probability  being  greater 
or  less  according  to  circumstances). 

The  Baconians  divide  the  major  premiss  and  call  it  a  reasoning,  whereas  it  is 
no  more  than  an  observation. 

The  essential  difference,  however,  between  the  empirical  and  the  scientific 
methods  is  this :— the  one  classifies  events,  the  other  classifies  substances.  The 
empiric  endeavors  to  find  the  law  of  the  events ;  the  man  of  science,  the  law  of 
the  substances  ;  and  in  this  light  both  pursue  exactly  the  same  method. 


THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION. 


251 


influence  of  age.  History,  however,  proves  that  an  im- 
mense amelioration  has  taken  place  even  in  this  respect 
— that  man  has  extended  the  limits  of  his  life — that  he 
has  intelligently  constructed  circumstances  less  fatal  to 
his  organism — that  he  has  diminished,  and  vastly  dimin- 
ished, his  liability  to  dissolution — in  fact,  that  he  has  to 
a  certain  extent  beaten  the  evils  of  the  physiological 
world,  exactly  as  he  has  vanquished  the  difficulties  of  the 
mechanical  world.* 

This  improvement  man  owes  to  empirical  physiology, 
partly  intentional  and  partly  unintentional — partly  to  the 
exercise  of  a  direct  effort,  and  partly  to  the  general  ame- 
lioration of  circumstances  produced  by  the  advance  of 
civilization.  Better  clothing  and  better  food — better 
dwellings  and  a  better  system  of  drainage — cleanliness, 
ventilation,  and  a  more  abundant  supply  of  water — 
prompt  treatment  under  acute  disease,  inoculation  and 
vaccination — the  improvement  of  jails,  workhouses,  and 
all  other  prisons  and  similar  abominations — a  more  simple 
and  natural  mode  of  rearing  children — in  fact,  a  better 
and  more  rational  system  of  treating  the  human  frame 

*  M.  Moreau  tie  Jonnes.  in  a  notice  on  the  mortality  of  Europe,  has  given  the 
following  table,  which  tends  equally  to  prove  the  influence  of  civilization  on  the 
number  of  deaths. 


Countries. 

Years. 

One 
death  out 
of 

Years. 

One 
death  out 
of 

Sweden            . 

1754  to  1768 

34 

1821  to  1825 

45 

Denmark 

1751  to  1754 

32 

1819 

45 

Germany  

1788 

32 

1825 

45 

Prussia 

1717 

30 

1821  to  1824 

39 

Austria  

1822 

40 

1825  to  1830 

43 

Holland 

1800 

26 

1824 

40 

England  

1690 

33 

1821 

58 

Great  Britain 

1785  to  1789 

43 

1800  to  1804 

47 

France  

1776 

25-5 

1825  to  1827 

39-5 

Roman  States  
Scotland  .  .        

1767 
1801 

21  5 
44 

1829 
1821 

28 
50 

— Quetelefs  Calculation  of  Probabilities. 
whole  note,  (v.)  p.  114. 


Notes  by  Mr.  Beamish.     See  the 


252         THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION. 

both  individual  and  collective,  and  placing  it  in  circum- 
stances more  conducive  to  its  healthy  function,  has  at 
last  evolved  a  longer  life,  and  secured  to  the  general  man 
a  longer  tenancy  of  terrestrial  existence. 

SECTION  III. — APPLICATION  OF  THE  THEORY  OF    PROGRESSION 
TO  MAN'S    POLITICAL    CONDITION. 

We  have  said  enough,  however,  to  show  the  direct 
bearing  of  science  on  the  improvement  of  man's  condition 
on  the  globe.  Knowledge  is  obtained,  an  improved  system 
of  action  is  consequently  generated,  and  from  that  im- 
proved system  of  action  an  improved  condition  arises  as 
the  necessary  result. 

But,  then,  how  comes  it  that,  notwithstanding  man's 
vast  achievements,  his  -wonderful  efforts  of  mechanical 
ingenuity,  and  the  amazing  productions  of  his  skill,  his 
own  condition  in  a  social  capacity  should  not  have  improved 
in  the  same  ratio  as  the  improvement  of  his  condition 
with  regard  to  the  material  world.  In  Britain,  man  has 
to  a  great  extent  beaten  the  material  world.  He  has 
vanquished  it,  overpowered  it ;  he  can  make  it  serve  him  ; 
he  can  use  not  merely  his  muscles,  but  the  very  powers 
of  nature  to  effect  his  purposes  ;  his  reason  has  triumphed 
over  matter ;  and  matter's  tendencies  and  powers  are  to  a 
great  extent  subject  to  his  will.  And,  notwithstanding 
this,  a  large  portion  of  the  population  is  reduced  to 
pauperism,  Jto  that  fearful  state  of  dependence  in  which 
man  finds  himself  a  blot  on  the  universe  of  God—a  wretcli 
thrown  up  by  the  waves  of  time,  without  a  use,  and 
without  an  end,  homeless  in  the  presence  of  the  firmament, 
and  helpless  in  the  face  of  the  creation.  Was  it  for  this 
that  the  Almighty  made  man  in  his  own  image,  and  gave 
him  the  earth  for  an  inheritance  ?  Was  it  for  this 
that  he  sent  his  Son  into  the  world  to  proclaim  the 
divine  benevolence,  to  preach  the  doctrine  of  human 


THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION.        253 

brotherhood,  and  to  lay  the  foundation  of  a  kingdom  that 
should  endure  for  ever  and  ever?  We  do  not  believe  it ; 
neither  do  we  believe  that  pauperism  comes  from  God. 
It  is  man's  doing,  arid  man's  doing  alone.  God  has  abun- 
dantly supplied  man  with  all  the  requisite  means  of  sup- 
port ;  and  where  he  cannot  find  support,  we  must  look, 
not  to  the  arrangements  of  the  Almighty,  but  to  the 
arrangements  of  men,  and  to  the  mode  in  which  they 
have  portioned  out  the  earth.  To  charge  the  poverty  of 
man  on  God,  is  to  blaspheme  the  Creator  instead  of  bowing 
in  reverent  thankfulness  for  the  profusion  of  his  goodness. 
He  has  given  enough,  abundance,  more  than  sufficient ; 
and  if  man  has  not  enough,  we  mnst  look  to  the  mode 
in  which  God's  gifts  have  been  distributed.  There  is 
enough,  enough  for  all,  abundantly  enough ;  and  all 
that  is  requisite  is  freedom  to  labor  on  the  soil,  and 
to  extract  from  it  the  produce  that  God  intended  for 
man's  support. 

But  what  is  the  cause  of  British  pauperism?  Why 
are  there  periodical  starvations  in  Ireland  and  the  High- 
lands ?  Why  is  there  a  crisis  every  few  years  in  England, 
when  able-bodied  men  willing  to  work  can  find  no  employ- 
ment? Why  are  Britons  obliged  to  be  shipped  off  to 
other  countries  ?  Is  it  because  the  natural  capabilities  of 
the  soil  have  been  wrought  up  to  the  highest  pitch,  and 
yet  there  remains  a  surplus  population  that  the  soil  will 
neither  employ  nor  feed?  Is  it  because  manufacturing 
has  been  carried  to  its  utmost  extent,  and  there  really  is 
no  further  room  for  the  employment  of  a  larger  popula- 
tion ?  Is  it,  in  fact,. because  man  has  done  his  best  with 
Britain,  made  the  most  of  it,  got  out  of  it  all  the  food  and 
all  the  wealth  that  it  is  capable  of  producing,  and  yet  it 
will  not  keep  its  own  inhabitants,  either  by  the  food  it 
produces,  or  by  articles  of  exchange  that  it  might  give  to 
other  countries  for  food?  Is  it  a  matter  of  necessity 
that  there  shall  be  paupers  (that  vile  word)  in  the  richest 


•Jf>4         THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION. 

country  in  the  world?  Is  it  true  that  England  can  no 
longer  support  Englishmen;  nor  Ireland,  Irishmen;  nor 
Scotland,  Scotchmen?  Have  we,  in  fact,  arrived  at  the 
last  term  of  population,  and  must  all,  over  and  above, 
expatriate  or  starve  ?  Is  this  true,  or  is  it  false  ?  It  is 
false, — false  from  beginning  to  end. 

And  what  is  the  cause  of  human  pauperism  and  human 
degradation  ?  for  the  two  go  hand  in  hand.  It  is  because 
the  social  arrangements  of  men  have  been  made  by  super- 
stition, and  not  by  knowledge.  The  sciences,  we  have 
shown,  lead  to  an  amended  order  of  action,  and  an 
amended  order  of  action  leads  to  an  amended  and  improved 
condition.  But  we  must  have  knowledge  in  the  depart- 
ment in  which  we  require  the  condition  to  be  amended. 
That  is,  mechanical  knowledge  improves  man's  mechanical 
condition,  as  regards  his  power  over  external  nature ; 
agricultural  knowledge  his  agricultural  condition  ;  chem- 
ical knowledge  his  chemical  condition ;  and  so  forth. 
But  social  knowledge — that  is,  social  science — is  abso- 
lutely requisite  before  we  can  labor  intelligently  to  im- 
prove man's  social  condition.  These  are  the  conditions 
under  which  man  tenants  the  globe.  Every  department 
of  nature,  and  of  man's  phenomenology,  has  its  laws ; 
and  if  those  laws  are  infringed,  evil  is  the  immediate,  in- 
variable, and  necessary  result.  And  if  man's  social  con- 
dition is  evil ;  if  we  find  at  one  end  of  society*  a  few 
thousands  of  individuals  with  enormous  wealth,  for  which 
they  work  not,  and  never  have  worked,  and  at  the  other* 
end  of  society  millions  belonging  to  the  same  country, 
and  born  on  the  same  soil,  with  barely  the  necessaries  of 
life,  and  too  often  in  abject  destitution — there  is  no  other 
conclusion  possible  than  that  this  poverty  arises  from 
man's  social  arrangements,  and  that  poor  the  mass  of  the 
population  must  remain  until  those  arrangements  are 
rectified  by  knowledge. 

Does   any  man  suppose    that  the  nation   will    much 


THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PItOGIiESSION.        255 

longer  believe  "  that  Britain  cannot  support  its  inhabit- 
ants?" Does  any  man  believe  that  the  men  who  can 
make  steam  engines,  and  cotton-mills,  and  railroads,  and 
ships,  and  the  largest  commerce  in  the  world,  and  spin- 
ning-jennies, and  steam  printing-machines,  and  Skerry  vore 
lighthouses,  and  electric  telegraphs,  and  a  thousand  other 
wonders,  could  not  make  such  a  distribution  of  Britain 
as  should  enable  every  man  in  it,  and  many  more,  to  earn 
an  abundant  livelihood  by  their  labor  ?  Does  any  man 
believe  this?  And  if  he  does  not  believe  it,  does  he  sup- 
pose that  any  superstitious  notions  about  the  king's  right 
to  grant  the  soil  to  individuals  will  long  stand  in  the  way 
of  their  doing  it  ?  If  Englishmen  discover  that  pauper- 
ism and  wretchedness  are  unnecessary ;  that  the  Divine 
Being  never  intended  such  things ;  that  the  degradation 
of  the  laboring  population,  their  moral  degradation  con- 
sequent on  poverty,  is  the  curse  of  the  laws  and  not  of 
nature, — does  any  man  suppose  that  Englishmen  would 
not  be  justified  in  abolishing  such  laws,  or  that  they  will 
not  abolish  them  ?  Can  we  believe  for  a  moment,  that  if 
any  arrangement  would  enable  the  population  to  find 
plenty,  that  such  an  arrangement  will  not  be  made?  If 
any  man  believe  this,  he  is  at  all  events  willing  to  be 
credulous.  For  ourselves,  we  believe  it  not. 

There  are  hundreds  of  thousands  of'  persons  in  this 
country  who  cannot  earn  above  from  7s.  to  10s.  per  week, 
even  when  they  have  constant  employment.  The  wages  of 
the  Scottish  agricultural  laborer — certainly  as  respectable 
a  man  as  is  found  in  the  whole  world  in  a  similar  situa- 
tion, although  unfortunately  undergoing  the  same  process 
of  degradation  that  is  undermining  society  in  the  towns 
— do  not  average  £26  per  annum.  This,  in  fact,  is  a 
high  estimate;  but,  to  place  the  question  altogether  be- 
yond the  reach  of  minute  wrangling,  let  it  even  be  called 
£30  per  annum,  and  here  we  are  quite  sure  that  we  ex- 
ceed the  highest  remuneration  that  the  best,  steadiest, 


256        THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION. 

most  sober,  and  most  skilful  laborer — the  man  who  works 
a  pair  of  horses — can  obtain  from  the  ordinary  farmer. 

With  this  sum  he  brings  up  a  family  and  educates  his 
children.  His  life  is  a  life  of  stern  economy,  and  he 
faces  it  like  a  man.  He  respects  himself,  and  feels  that 
he  has  a  right  to  be  respected.  He  does  manage  to  live 
like  a  moral  being,  and  sometimes  escapes  the  degrada- 
tion of  the  poor-roll  in  his  old  age.*  This  is  the  best 
position  of  the  laborer,  the  maximum  that  the  present 
condition  of  Scotland  can  afford  to  the  highest  class  of  her 
laboring  children — milk,  porridge,  and  potatoes,  and  with 
these  he  goes  through  his  life  of  honest  independence. 

But  what  is  the  minimum,  what  is  the  condition  of  the 
shoals  of  Irish  peasantry  who  invade  the  west  coast, 
and  the  tribes  of  Highlanders  who  have  little  or  nothing 
to  do?  What  can  they  earn?  What  food  do  they 
habitually  use,  and  what  is  their  moral  existence  ?  Let 
any  one  visit  the  Western  Islands,  and  inquire  into  the 
social  condition  of  the  inhabitants,  and  the  arrangements 
that  men  have  made  for  the  destruction  of  the  population. 
See  scores  of  men,  women,  and  children,  gathering  shell- 
fish on  the  shore  as  almost  their  only  food,  while  the  rent 
of  the  island  is  all  abstracted,  and  spent  in  London  or 
elsewhere ;  and  then  say  if  it  be  possible  that,  with  such 
arrangements,  any  soil,  or  any  climate,  or  any  profusion 
of  natural  advantages,  would  have  compensated  for  the 
evil  arangements  that  men  have  made.t  Does  any  one 

*  "  The  class,  perhaps,  which  suffers  most  in  agricultural  districts  is  that  Of 
single  women ;  whose  wages,  when  employed  as  out-workers  in  the  vigor  of 
life,  are  not  more  than  sufficient  to  furnish  them,  in  the  scantiest  measure  and 
humblest  style,  with  the  necessaries  of  life ;  and  who  thus,  in  the  absence  of 
any  of  those  resources,  such  as  spinning  and  knitting,  to  which  in  old  age 
females  had  recourse  in  former  times,  have  no  prospect  before  them,  if  they  re- 
main unmarried,  but  that  of  living  in  their  latter  days  supported  by  parochial 
aid." — Report  on  Increase  of  Pauper  ism.  Edinburgh  :  A.  &  C.  Black. 

Such  is  the  prospect  which  Britain  holds  out  to  her  laboring  children  —a  life 
of  semi-starvation,  and  an  old  age  of  pauperism.  The  American  republic  is,  at 
all  events,  clear  of  this  evil. 

t  In  some  of  the  Western  Islands  the  people  are  little  or  no  better  than 


THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION.         257 

suppose  that  those  same  Highlanders,  who  find  a 
wretched  sustenance  on  the  shore,  could  not,  and  would 
not,  extract  an  abundant  existence  out  of  the  soil  of 
their  native  island  ?  The  law  forbids  them ;  that  is, 
men  have  made  such  arrangements  with  regard  to  God's 
earth,  that  the  stable  population  must  be  reduced  to 
destitution,  for  the  purpose  of  having  one  man  endowed 
with  a  wealth  which  he,  perhaps,  knows  not  how  to  use, 
nor  even  to  retain.* 

But  what,  after  all,  is  the  practical  conclusion  to  which 
we  come  ?  What  system  is  it  that  would  obliterate  pau- 
perism ?  On  this  we  do  not  intend  to  enter  in  the  present 
volume.  We  must  first  show  the  probability  (a  proba- 
bility which,  taken  altogether,  amounts  to  a  reasonable 
expectation)  that  man,  placed  as  he  is  on  the  globe,  is  not 
necessarily  condemned  to  pauperism  and  degradation ; 
but  that  a  period  will  come  erelong,  when  the  natural 
laws  which  govern  society  shall  be  discovered,  and  being 
discovered,  shall  lead  to  a  condition  of  prosperity 
altogether  inconceivable  at  the  present  time.  Two  sys- 
tems are  open  to  us — 

Either,  pauperism  and  degradation  are  the  work  of  the 
Creator  of  our  system  the  All-Powerful,  who 
has  placed  present  man  in  circumstances  where 

bondsmen  or  serfs.  In  one  island  (and  perhaps  the  practice  is  common,  but  on 
this  we  cannot  speak)  it  is  said  that  the  tenants  are  not  allowed  to  sell  their 
grain  except  to  the  landlord.  What  is  this  but  serfdom  ?  It  was,  of  course, 
proper  to  introduce  law  into  the  Highlands ;.  but  no  principle,  either  of  natural 
right,  or  religion,  or  social  economy,  could  ever  justify  the  law  in  giving  the 
property  of  the  clan  to  the  head  of  the  house,  to  be  used  by  him  as  private 
property.  This  is  the  origin  of  all  the  Highland  distress.  No  economical 
improvements  are  worth  a  farthing  until  this  radical  evil  is  corrected. 

*  A  fact.  The  greater  part  of  an  island,  the  rental  of  which  part  was  about 
£20,000  a  year,  has  recently  been  found  insufficient  to  support  a  family.  The 
capital  was  spent,  and  the  estate  is  for  sale.  On  that  same  island  we  have  seen 
the  native  population  in  numbers  gathering  their  daily  food  on  the  shore.  This 
island,  in  miniature,  is  a  very  exact  representation  of  the  social  condition  of 
Great  Britain.  It  may  take  a  little  time  for  the  mass  of  the  population  to  see 
exactly  how  things  really  do  stand  ;  but  they  will  discover  the  truth  at  last.t 

t  Readers  of  Henry  George  will  remember  an  effective  use  of  this  same 
parallel.— A.  H. 

'7 


258        THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION. 

the   natural   capabilities   of  the    earth   are  in- 
sufficient for  his  support ; 

Or,    pauperism   and  degradation   are    the    work  of 
fallen  man,  who  through  ignorance  has  based  bis 
arrangements  of  the  earth  on  superstitious  prop- 
ositions, and  thereby  necessarily  has  rendered  it 
impossible  that  the  amount  of  good  intended  by 
the  Creator  can  be  extracted  from  the  earth. 
Of  these  two  schemes  we  may  take  our  choice.     We 
may  blasphemously  rush  to  the  conclusion,  that  the  earth 
is  for  man  a  terrible  prison,  with  necessary  horrors,  from 
which,  do  what  we  will,  we  cannot  escape.     Or,  we  may 
believe  with    humble   reverence,   that    notwithstanding 
man's  transgression,  the  Almighty  God  has  yet,  in  the 
abundance  of  his  compassion,  plentifully  provided   him 
with  the  means  of  terrestrial  existence.     That  man's  do- 
ings are  the  cause  of  man's  distress ;  that  man's  ignorance, 
and  man's  error,  and  man's  injustice,  and  man's  wrong 
arrangement  of  the  world,  is  the  true   and   only  cause 
why  man  is  afflicted  with  poverty,  and  thereby  placed  in 
circumstances  almost  incompatible  with  his  proper  exist- 
ence as  a  moral  agent  and  an  accountable  creature.     And 
if  we  admit  that  moral  degradation  does  for  the  most 
part    accompany    physical  degradation,   then   must   we 
admit,  that  if  any  new  arrangement  of  the  natural  world, 
which  man  did  not  create,   would  have   the   effect   of 
obliterating  poverty,   and,  consequently,  of  obliterating 
the  necessary  evils  of  poverty ;  that  new  arrangement  is 
right,  just,  and  good,  and  ought  to  be  carried  into  execu- 
tion, whatever  the  present  arrangements,  inherited  from 
past  generations,  may  actually  be. 

And  we  affirm,  without  the  slightest  hesitation,  that 
the  very  same  kind  of  improvements  that  have  followed 
the  mathematical  and  physical  sciences,  will  follow  social 
science,  and  achieve  in  the  world  of  man  far  greater 
wonders  than  have  yet  been  achieved  in  the  world  of 


THE  THEORY  OF  I1U1IAX  PROGRESSION.         259 

matter. .  It  is  not  trade  Britain  wants,  nor  more  railroads, 
nor  larger  orders  for  cotton,  nor  new  schemes  for  aliment- 
ing the  poor,  nor  loans  to  landlords,  nor  any  other 
mercantile  or  economical  change.  It  is  social  change. 
Xew  social  arrangements,  made  on  the  principles  of  nat- 
ural equity.  No  economical  measure  whatever  is  capable 
of  reaching  the  depths  of  the  social  evils.  Ameliorations 
may,  no  doubt,  be  made  for  a  time  ;  but  the  radical  evil 
remains,  still  generating  the  poison  that  corrupts 
society. 

The  evil  is  expressed  in  a  few  words  ;  and,  sooner  or 
later,  the  nation  will  appreciate  it  and  rectify  it.  It  is 
"  the  alienation  of  the  soil  from  the  state,  and  the  con- 
sequent taxation  of  the  industry  of  the  country."  Bri- 
tain may  go  on  producing  with  wonderful  energy,  and 
may  accomplish  far  more  than  she  has  yet  accomplished. 
She  may  struggle  as  Britain  only  can  struggle.  She  may 
present  to  the  world  peace  at  home,  when  the  nations 
of  Europe  are  filled  with  insurrection.  She  may  lead 
foremost  in  the  march  of  civilization,  and  be  first  among 
the  kingdoms  of  the  earth.  All  this  she  may  do,  and 
more.  But  as  certainly  as  Britain  continues  her  present 
social  arrangements,  so  certainly  will  there  come  a  time 
when — the  other  questions  being  cleared  on  this  side 
and  on  that  side,  and  the  main  question  brought  into  the 
arena — the  labor  of  Britain  will  emancipate  itself  from 
thraldom.  Gradually  and  surely  has  the  separation  been 
taking  place  between  the  privileged  landowner  and  the 
unprivileged  laborer.  And  the  time  will  come  at  last 
that  there  shall  be  but  two  parties  looking  each  other  in 
the  face,  and  knowing  that  the  destruction  of  one  is  an 
event  of  necessary  occurrence.  That  event  must  come. 
Nor  is  it  in  man  to  stay  it  or  to  produce  it.  It  will  come 
as  the  result  of  the  laws  that  govern  nature  and  that  govern 
man.  As  in  the  island  we  have  spoken  of,  the  popula- 
tion must  be  destroyed  or  the  land  must  be  opened  to  their 


260         THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PliOGHESSION. 

cultivation,  and  not  accorded  to  the  landlord.  .  Of  the 
two  parties,  one  must  give  way.  One  must  sink,  to  rise 
no  more;  one  must  disappear  from  the  earth.  Their 
continued  existence  is  incompatible.  Nature  cannot 
support  both.  Nature  cannot  afford  to  support  the 
population  in  plenty,  and  over  and  above  to  pay  on  a  small 
island  £20,000  a  year  to  the  proprietor.  Such  things 
cannot  be.  We  may  as  well  attempt  mechanical  impos- 
sibilities as  political  impossibilities :  and,  notwithstand- 
ing the  almost  universal  prevalence  of  the  current  super- 
stition about  the  rights  of  landed  property,  we  have  no 
hesitation  in  affirming  that  a  very  few  years  will  show 
that  superstition  destroyed,  and  the  main  question  of 
England's  welfare  brought  to  a  serious  and  definite 
discussion. 

In  politics  there  are  only  two  main  questions — first,  per- 
sonal liberty ;  second,  natural  property.  England  has 
been  at  work  for  centuries  in  the  endeavor  to  settle  the 
first ;  and,  when  that  is  definitively  settled,  she  will  give 
her  undivided  attention  to  the  second.  Before  the  dis- 
cussion of  the  question  of  property  (natural  property,  the 
object),  there  is,  however,  a  main  and  principal  question 
of  liberty.  Englishmen  have  achieved  their  liberty  in  one 
sense ;  that  is,  they  are  equal  in  the  eye  of  the  criminal 
law  (nearly  so),  have  a  right  to  be  tried  by  their  peers 
according  to  law,  and  cannot  on  any  occasion  be  subjected 
to  punishment  by  the  rulers,  as  such.  So  far  the  pro- 
gress of  England  has  been  satisfactory  ;  and,  above  every  • 
country  in  the  world,  she  has  been  distinguished  for  her 
race  of  independent  judges,  whose  conduct  for  many 
years  past  has  been  one  of  the  greatest  moral  wonders  of 
the  world.  In  the  whole  history  of  the  administration  of 
justice,  there  is  nothing  to  compare  with  the  quiet  grand- 
eur with  which  the  judges  of  England  have  unostenta- 
tiously performed  their  duties.  Apart  from  religion,  this 
has  been  England's  truest  greatness,  her  most  solid  claim 


THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION.         261 

to  the  admiration  of  all  mankind.  The  deeds  of  her  great- 
est commanders  are  as  dust  in  the  balance,  compared 
with  the  deeds  of  her  judges.  These  have  been  truly 
great ;  and  England  owes  to  them  that  moral  supremacy 
of  the  law,  which  is  the  surest  basis  of  civil  society,  and 
the  grandest  natural  phenomenon  that  comes  within  the 
limits  of  man's  cognizance.  Long  may  Heaven  continue 
to  favor  England  with  upright  judges,  and  long  may 
Englishmen  continue  to  regard  them  with  the  highest 
honor ! 

But,  in  another  sense,  Englishmen  have  not  achieved 
their  liberty,  and  a  main  question  remains  to  be  decided. 
Its  ultimate  decision  is  by  no  means  a  matter  of  doubt, 
but  it  may  be  years  before  it  comes  to  definite  issue. 
This  question  is,  "the  right  of  the  deliberative  assembly 
to  make  laws  for,  and  impose  taxation  on,  that  portion  of 
the  population  who  have  no  voice  in  the  election  of  the 
representatives."  In  other  words,  the  question  of  univer- 
sal suffrage.  It  is  plainly  evident,  that  those  who  have 
no  power  to  elect  are  not  citizens  of  the  state.  They  are 
an  inferior  class,  ruled  by  force;  and  the  emancipation  of 
this  class,  and  their  equalization  in  the  eye  of  the  law,  is 
the  first  great  question  that  will  agitate  the  kingdom. 
Economical  questions,  as  to  whether  there  shall  be  three 
soldiers  or  half  a  dozen,  or  Avhether  a  certain  duty  shall 
be  ten  per  cent,  or  twenty,  or  whether  the  government 
should  give  more  or  less  aid  to  emigration,  all  these  are 
quite  unimportant  compared  with  the  main  question,  of 
whether  two  or  three  millions  of  men  are  morally  bound 
to  obey  and  acknowledge  a  government  that  excludes 
them  from  representation.  Let  this  question  be  treated 
as  it  may,  of  one  thing  we  are  quite  convinced ;  namely, 
that  the  non-electing  population  will  either  obtain  the 
right  by  the  consent  of  the  present  rulers,  or  ultimately 
they  will  take  it  by  force.  The  change  must  come  as  it 
lies  in  the  order  of  human  progression ;  but  what 


262        THE  THEORY  OF  llUMAN  PROGRESSION. 

menus  of  effecting  the  change  shall  be,  remains  to  be  de- 
termined. In  all  probability,  when  once  the  question  is 
thoroughly  a  national  one,  the  present  rulers  will  admit 
the  necessity  of  the  change,  and  place  the  whole  popula- 
tion on  an  equality  as  regards  their  political  functions. 
And  when  once  this  last  great  question  of  liberty  has  been 
disposed  of,  the  country  cannot  fail  to  commence  another 
evolution,  and  to  enter  on  a  line  of  progress  that  shall 
ultimately  place  men  on  the  same  equality  with  regard  to 
natural  property,  that  will  then  prevail  with  regard  to 
political  liberty. 

But  let  the  mechanism  of  the  changes  be  what  they 
may,  let  our  views  be  right  or  wrong  with  regard  to  the 
process  of  improvement,  we  yet  maintain  that  our  major 
proposition  is  fully  borne  out.  We  allege,  as  the  most 
general  proposition,  that  the  improvement  of  social  science 
will  improve  man's  social  action,  and  that  the  improve- 
ment of  man's  social  action  will  improve  man's  social  con- 
dition. In  fact,  that  the  acquisition  of  social  science 
will  ultimately  produce  a  social  millennium.  There  is  a 
science  of  man,  and  of  man's  action,  if  wre  can  only  dis- 
cover it  ;•  and  the  discovery  of  that  science  will  produce 
effects  analogous  to  the  effects  produced  by  any  other 
science.  Let  us,  then,  endeavor  to  estimate,  for  a  moment, 
some  of  the  effects  that  may  reasonably  be  anticipated 
from  the  discovery,  acknowledgment,  and  reduction  to 
ordination,  of  social  science.* 

*  The  term  discovery  is  perhaps  liable  to  be  misunderstood,  or  perhaps  rather 
to  be  objected  to.  We  do  not  mean  that  any  object  called  a  science  is  to  be  dis- 
covered like  a  fossil  or  a  new  planet.  Science  exists  in  the  mind,  not  in  external 
nature  ;  and  the  discovery  of  science  is  the  discovery  of  the  truths  of  a  science, 
and  of  the  process  by  which  those  truths  are  substantiated.  Thus,  Aristotle 
discovered  logic  when  he  laid  bare  the  process  of  reasoning,  and  exhibited  the 
necessary  forms  under  which  man's  intellect  works.  Aristotle  did  not  discover 
that  man  could  reason  ;  neither  did  he  discover  a  new  object,  but  he  discovered 
a  science,  a  mode  of  knowledge.  Newton  did  not  discover  the  sun,  nor  the 
moon,  nor  the  earth ;  but  he  discovered  the  mode  of  their  operations.  The  sun, 
the  moon,  and  the  earth,  remained  unaffected  by  the  discovery ;  they  per- 
formed their  functions  as  usual,  without  the  slightest  attention  to  the  great 


THE  THEORY  OF  IIUMAN  PROGRESSION.        263 

But,  in  the  first  place,  let  us  observe  that  the  natural 
history  of  a  science  always  begins  at  the  wrong  end.  We 
do  not  mean  that  it  ought  not  to  do  so;  on  the  contrary, 
it  ought  to  do  so,  and  must  do  so,  because  it  cannot  do 
otherwise.  Nature  furnishes  us  with  wholes  and,  these 
must  first  be  manipulated  as  whole  individuals.  These 
are  named,  described,  and  classed,  after  a  fashion.  Neither 
the  nomenclature,  however,  nor  the  classification,  are 
destined  to  remain.  They  serve  a  temporary  purpose, 
and  are  of  use  to  facilitate  communication.  Thus  chem- 
istry cannot  commence  with  oxygen,  hydrogen,  calcium, 
and  potassium,  etc. ,  These  are  the  logical  primaries,  or 
simples,  of  chemistry;  but  they  are  by  no  means  the 
chronological  primaries.  Neither  does  anatomy  begin 
with  fibrine,  albumen,  nor  globules,  but  with  a  whole 
animal,  and  with  a  head,  a  thorax,  an  abdomen,  thoracic 
members,  and  abdominal  members.  Neither  does  zoology 
begin  with  organic  substance,  its  arrangement  into  the 
organs  of  nutrition,  locomotion,  sensation,  reproduction, 
etc. ;  but  with  a  great  number  of  different  animals,  pre- 
senting different  outward  appearances.  This  principle  is 

philosopher.  The  change  was  in  the  credence  of  mankind.  And  so  it  is  with 
all  science.  The  change  is  in  the  credence  of  mankind.  Now,  intellect  (taken 
as  intellect,  without  regarding  the  moral  influences  that  may  bias  its  judg- 
ments) is  of  that  nature  that  it  is  convinced  by  evidence.  All  human  intellect 
is  radically  the  same,  only  variable  in  quantity.  And  scientific  discovery  is  the 
discovery  of  that  mode  of  presenting  propositions  which  necessarily  leads  in- 
tellect. <>r  any  number  of  unbiassed  intellects,  to  the  same  identical  conclusions. 
Then-  'is  but  one  truth,  and  consequently  there  is  but  one  scheme  of  knowledge  ; 
and  the  groat  final  result  of  scientific  discovery,  is  the  restoration  of  the  unity 
of  human  credence.  Men  may  differ  in  taste,  in  likings,  and  in  dislikings  ;  but 
their  intellect  cannot  differ  in  judgment,  except  through  superstition  or  error. 
The  discovery  of  science,  therefore,  is  the  di  -••overy  of  the  knowledge  itself, 
and  of  that  mode  of  presenting  it  that  shall  convince  intellect  as  intellect.  On 
this  account  it  has  been  said,  that  "  he  discovers  who  proves."  As  science  ad- 
vances, diversity  of  opinion  dies  away,  and  unity  of  knowledge  takes  its  place. 
To  produce  this  unity  of  knowledge  for  the  whole  race  of  man.  is  the  magnif- 
icent destiny  of  science  ;  and  the  humblest  cultivator  of  natural  know  lei  I  :<•  is. 
like  the  coral  insect,  helping  to  rear  an  edifice,  which,  emerging  from  the 
vexed  ocean  of  conflicting  credence,  shall  be  first  stable  and  sec-tire,  and,  at 
last,  shall  cover  itself  with  verdure,  flowers,  and  fruits,  and  bloom  beautiful  in 
the  t'nee  of  heaven. 


'2CA         THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION. 

universal  in  science,  that  the  chronological  commence- 
ment is  with  a  whole,  a  complex  mass ;  while  the  logical 
commencement  of  the  science,  properly  so  called,  is  with 
a  simple  primary,  from  which  we  start  to  build  up  the 
complex  mass.* 

To  express  this  in  logical  formula,  let  us  say  that  the 
chronological  commencement  is  with  an  individual  pre- 
senting the  greatest  comprehension  and  the  least  exten- 
sion, and  that  the  logical  commencement  is  with  an  indi- 
vidual presenting  the  greatest  extension  and  the  least 
comprehension.! 

The  process  of  science,  therefore,  is  in  the  first  place 
analytic,  and  when  the  analysis  has  been  carried  down  to 
the  last  elements,  the  process  is  reversed,  and  it  then  be- 
comes synthetic.  And  this  is  true  of  the  mathematical 
sciences  as  well  as  of  the  physical  sciences,  although  the 
mathematical  sciences  are  invariably  presented  in  the 
synthetic  form.  In  them  we  have  the  first  and  most 

*  "  All,  or  almost  'all,  the  substances  found  on  the  globe  of  the  earth,  have 
been  subjected  to  chemical  investigation.  The  result  has  been,  that  all  the 
animal  and  vegetable  substances,  without  exception,  and  by  far  the  greatest 
number  of  mineral  bodies,  are  compounds." 

t  To  Sir  William  Hamilton,  of  the  University  of  Edinburgh,  the  logical  world 
is  indebted  for  an  exposition  of  the  theory  of  comprehension  and  extension. 

Among  the  individual  objects  of  natural  science  man  is  the  one  that  presents 
the  greatest  comprehension  ;  but  the  name  man  extends  only  to  himself.  The 
name  animal,  on  the  contrary,  extends  to  an  immense  variety  of  organized 
beings,  but  comprehends  only  a  sensitive  organized  individual.  A  blood 
globule,  as  a  matter  of  real  science,  has  a  great  extension,  but  comprehends 
only  a  very  simple  form  of  organization.  The  word  being  (noun-substantive) 
is  that  which  presents  the  greatest  possible  extension  and  least  possible  com- 
prehension. What  is  called  the  universe,  on  the  contrary,  presents  the  greatest 
possible  comprehension  and  the  least  possible  extension.  There  can  only  be 
one  universe  ;  but  there  may  be  an  infinity  of  beings,  or  rather  an  indefinity. 
Extension  appears  to  represent  number,  where  we  begin  with  unity,  and  re- 
peat indefinitely  ;  and  comprehension  appears  to  represent  quantity,  where  we 
begin  with  infinity,  and  subdivide  indefinitely.  The  difference  between 
number  and  quantity  has  been  far  too  much  overlooked,  apparently  from  the 
circumstance  that  unity  is  (absurdly)  allowed  to  be  divisible.  That  is,  we  divide 
one  unit  into  two  units.  Now,  the  fact  is,  we  have  doubled  the  number  and 
hilved  the  quantity.  Unity  in  pure  arithmetic  is  absolutely  indivisible  until 
we  assign  it  a  value,  or  quantity,  and  then  it  may  represent  any  number ;  but 
in  pure  arithmetic  unity  is  the  one  simple. 


THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGEESSION.        265 

simple  appearance  of  analysis,  and  the  greatest  preponder- 
ance of  synthesis.  In  the  advanced  physical  sciences,  on 
the  contrary,  we  have  the  greatest  amount  of  analysis,  so 
great,  in  fact,  that  the  analytic  portion  of  the  science  has 
frequently  been  mistaken  for  the  whole  science.  The 
whole  science,  however,  is  not  completed  until  both  the 
analytic  portion  and  the  synthetic  portion  are  achieved. 
Geometry  has  its  preparatory  analysis,  exactly  as  chemis- 
try has  its  analysis ;  and  though  no  mention  is  made  of 
this  in  geometrical  treatises,  the  fact  cannot  be  overlooked 
when  we  take  a  survey  of  the  philosophy  of  science.  Xa- 
ture  does  not  furnish  us  with  points  having  no  extent, 
with  straight  lines  having  no  breadth,  with  perfect  circles, 
squares,  and  triangles,  etc.  On  the  contrary,  nature  fur- 
nishes us  with  forms  very  imperfect  for  the  most  part, 
and  very  complex  for  the  most  part,  and  these  we  analyze 
into  the  elementary  forms  of  position  (the  point),  and 
direction  and  extent  (the  line),  and  with  these  we  proceed 
to  construct  extent  in  two  directions  (the  superficies),  and 
extent  in  three  directions  (the  solid).* 

In  politics,  therefore,  as  in  every  other  science,  the 
natural  history  comes  first,  and  then  the  science.  The 
most  obvious  divisions  of  things  as  they  are,  are  the  first 
clumsy  attempts  at  analysis ;  and  laws  begin,  not  by  con- 
structing the  state  as  it  ought  to  be  constructed,  but  by 

*  Space,  as  an  unlimited  solid,  we  take  to  be,  not  simple,  as  usually  repre- 
sented, but  as  compound.  The  concept  space  is  composite,  and  may  be 
analyzed  into  position,  direction,  and  extent.  These  three  concepts  are  simple, 
cannot  be  defined,  and  form  the  elementary  substantives  of  geometry.  Direc- 
tion and  extent  give  rise  to  two  different  methods.  For  instance,  by  measur- 
ing the  distances  (extent)  between  all  the  points  of  a  country  (suppose  by 
chain),  we  may  construct  a  map,  and  the  map  shall  have  a  scale  ;  but  we  shall 
not  be  able  to  tell,  in  the  least,  how  to  place  the  map, — that  is,  we  know  noth- 
ing about  the  direction.  And  if  we  measure  only  the  direction  (suppose  by 
compass)  of  the  various  points,  we  shall  also  have  a  map,  and  this  map  we  shall 
place  correctly,  but  it  will  not  have  a  scale, — that  is,  we  know  nothing  about 
the  extent.  To  have  both  the  direction  and  the  extent,  we  must  combine  both 
methods :  and  on  this  account  a  survey  by  triangulation  requires  a  measured 
base  line,  the  only  use  of  which,  however,  is  to  give  the  scale,  the  form  being 
determined  by  the  direction  of  the  points. 


•J<li5        THE  THEORY  OF  HUNAN  PROGRESSION. 

attempting  to  remedy  the  most  obvious  evils.  This  is 
the  case  even  where  laws  have  been  made  in  a  good  inten- 
tion. We  do  not  refer  to  those  bad,  and  unjust,  and  de- 
spotic laws  which  have  prevailed  in  all  European  states, 
but  to  the  best  portion  of  the  laws  viewed  in  their  best 
light;  and  these  we  maintain  to  have  begun  at  the  latter 
end  of  the  question  and  not  at  its  beginning. 

The  first  and  most  obvious  requirement  in  a  country, 
is  some  degree  of  security  for  life,  liberty,  and  property. 
This  gives  birth  to  criminal  law,  the  great  end  of  which 
is  ostensibly  to  prevent  crimes.  Now  here  we  have  the 
whole  evidence  of  history  that  law  began  at  the  wrong 
end.  Law  ought  to  emanate  from  ethics,  and  the  very 
first  and  most  important  question  to  determine  is,  "What 
is  a  crime,  and  what  is  not  a  crime  ?  "  Instead  of  ascer- 
taining what  was  a  crime,  men  assumed  the  crime,  and 
then  proceeded  to  enact  laws  for  its  punishment.  They 
made  a  synthesis  before  making  an  analysis,  and  made 
that  synthesis  the  basis  of  political  enactment,  and  com- 
mitted murder  and  robbery,  and  every  other  crime,  under 
the  shelter  of  their  legislation.  So  far  as  the  science  of 
politics  was  concerned,  they  were  in  much  the  same  posi- 
tion as  those  who  made  astronomy  without  observation ; 
that  is,  they  were  wholly  and  totally  basing  on  arbitrary 
assumption.  But  wrong  proceedings  in  politics  are  far 
more  serious  than  wrong  proceedings  in  other  depart- 
ments, inasmuch  as  man  and  man's  welfare  are  concerned; 
and  the  laws  of  former  times,  and  to  a  large  extent  of  the 
present  time,  being  based  on  superstition,  necessarily 
produced,  and  continue  to  produce,  effects  the  most  detri- 
mental to  society.  Even  admitting  the  major  proposition 
of  the  law,  that  "crime ought  to  be  punished,"  the  minor, 
"  this  act  and  that  act  are  crimes,"  was  purely  arbitrary ; 
it  was  determined  on  no  principle  of  stability,  was  vari- 
able, contradictory,  often  absurd,  and  very  generally 
unjust.  Thus,  at  one  period  it  was  a  crime  for  a  man  to 


THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION.         267 

be  free  (as  it  still  is  in  Russia  and  the  southern  states  of 
America),  at  another  period  it  was  a  crime  to  have  a  slave. 
At  one  period  it  was  a  crime  to  go  to  church,  at  another 
to  refrain  from  going  to  church.  At  one  period  it  was  a 
crime  to  shoot  a  deer,  at  another  no  crime.  At  one  period 
it  was  a  crime  to  be  a  witch,  at  another  period  it  was 
admitted  that  there  were  no  witches.  Now  all  this  diver- 
sity is  exactly  similar  to  the  diversity  that  prevailed  in 
the  physical  sciences  before  Bacon's  time.  The  major, 
principles  of  investigation  were  not  in  dispute ;  but  Bacon, 
with  a  grasp  of  magnificent  genius,  laid  hold  of  the 
minors  of  the  sciences,  and  told  men  that  they  must  first 
ascertain  them  before  they  could  arrive  at  knowledge. 

And  so  it  is  in  law,  the  exponent  of  men's  views  of 
political  science.  The  minor  proposition,  "  What  is  a 
crime  ?"  requires  to  be  determined  on  exactly  the  same 
principles  as  we  determine  "What  is  a  square?"  or, 
"  What  is  the  orbit  of  the  earth?"  Without  this  deter- 
mination, made  on  principles  which  are  not  arbitrary  but 
scientific,  law  is  despotism ;  and  no  man  in  the  world  is 
morally  bound  to  obey  it,  except  as  Scripture  may  enjoin 
him  to  obey  even  unjust  laws.  If  legislatures  will  make 
arbitrary  crimes — that  is,  make  actions  legally  criminal 
which  are  not  naturally  criminal — no  population  is  bound 
to  obey  them.  On  the  contrary,  it  becomes  one  of  the 
highest  duties  of  man  to  resist  such  laws ;  to  use  every 
effort  to  procure  their  abolition  ;  and,  if  he  cannot  do  so 
by  reason,  then  to  do  so  by  force.  The  welfare  of  hu- 
manity demands  this  at  the  hand  of  every  man  ;  and  the 
base  and  slavish  doctrine  of  non-resistance  is  fit — not  for 
men  who  study  truth  in  God's  universe — but  for  hireling 
sycophants,  who  care  not  what  man  may  suffer  so  that 
their  vile  carcases  are  clothed  and  fed.  The  liberties  we 
have  in  England  are  mainly  owing  to  the  fact,  that  Eng- 
land would  not  tolerate  the  determination  of  crime  by 
the  executive  rulers,  but  reserved  this  for  the  deliberative 


268         THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION. 

assembly;  .and,  in  so  doing,  England  has  undoubtedly 
made  a  declaration  (not  so  explicit  as  it  would  be  now), 
that  she  reserves  the  light  to  try  the  issue  by  force  of 
arms  with  any  government  that  should  make  artificial 
crimes,  or  punish  the  population  for  actions  which  were 
neither  contrary  to  the  laws  of  God,  of  reason,  or  of  nature. 
The  power  of  the  ruler  to  determine  "  What  is  a  crime," 
is  the  origin  and  sole  basis  of  the  political  degradation  of 
the  Continent  of  Europe.  Abstract  this  determination 
from  the  power  of  the  rulers — lei'  it  be  made  on  a  prin- 
ciple of  independent  investigation — and  let  the  rulers  he 
the  executors  of  the  laws — and  we  have  the  first  great 
practical  reform  that  envelops  the  germ  of  all  others, 
and  that  cannot  fail  ultimately  to  entail  the  best  blessings 
of  liberty  and  security.  All  the  revolutions  of  the  Con- 
tinent, from  the  day  of  the  Jeu  de  Paume  down' to  the 
year  1849,  have  originated  in  nothing  else  than  the  false 
determination  of  crime  by  the  law,  and  the  power  of  the 
ruler  not  merely  to  execute  laws,  but  to  make,  alter,  and 
originate  them. 

But  intimately  connected  with  the  theory  of  crime 
(much  more  so  than  is  usually  imagined),  is  the  theory  of 
natural  property.  The  law  assumed  crime  arbitrarily, 
and  proceeded  to  punish  it ;  it  assumed  property  arbi- 
trarily, and  proceeded  to  protect  it.  The  king,  who  had  the 
power  to  make  or  unmake  crimes,  had  the  power  to  dis- 
pose of  the  land  that  belonged  to  the  state.*  He  sold  or 
gifted  it,  and  thus  in  the  long  run  the  whole  of  the  lands 
of  England,  with  some  trifling  exceptions,  have  been 
alienated  from  the  nation,  and  the  burden  of  taxation  has 

*  James  I.  considered,  that  "  as  it  is  atheism  and  blasphemy  in  a  creature  lo 
dispute  what  the  Deity  may  do  ;  so  it  is  presumption  and  sedition  in  a  subject 
to  dispute  what  the  king  may  do  in  the  height  of  his  power.  Good  Christians 
will  be  content  with  God's  will,  revealed  in  his  Word  :  and  good  subjects  will 
rest  in  the  king's  will,  revealed  in  his  law." — (Works  557-531.)  This  profane  com- 
parison was  familiar  to  the  servile  lawyers  of  the  day.  (See  Finch,  Law.  81.  3.) 
— Euc.  Met. 


TUE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION.        269 

been  placed  upon  the  people.*  Superstition  (that  is,  un- 
founded credence)  was  at  the  bottom  of  the  king's  right 
in  both  cases ;  and  the  present  inhabitants  of  the  British 
islands  are  bound  to  observe  the  laws,  made  in  former 
times,  concerning-  crimes  and  property,  just  in  so  far  as 
those  laws  are  now  equitable,  or  would  now  be  re-enacted 
were  there  no  laws  on  those  subjects.  The  present  pos- 
sessor of  a  portion  of  land  derives  not  one  iota  of  present 
right  from  the  former  gift  of  a  defunct  monarch ;  and  his 
right,  to  be  now  valid,  must  be  such,  that  were  all  his 
titles  destroyed  the  nation  would  proceed  to  place  him  in 
possession  of  the  lands,  because  he,  as  an  individual  man, 
had  an  equitable  claim  to  them.  Just  as,  if  all  the  laws 
and  statutes  of  England  were  destroyed,  the  nation 
would  proceed  as  usual  to  the  arrest  and  punishment  of 
the  murderer  or  robber — those  persons  being  punished, 
not  because  there  are  laws  for  their  punishment,  but 

*  As  an  instance  of  the  manner  in  which  the  lands  of  England  have  been  dis- 
posed of,  and  consequently  the  taxation  placed  on  the  industrious  classes,  we 
give  the  following  from  the  Bi»r/rnjihi«  llritannica  : — 

"  In  the  year  1(595,  King  William  made  this  nobleman  (Lord  Portland)  a  grant 
of  the  lordships  of  Denbigh,  Bromfield,  Yale,  and  other  lands,  containing  many 
thousand  acres,  in  the  principality  of  Wales  ;  which,  being  part  of  the  demesne 
thereof,  the  grant  was  opposed,  and  the  House  of  Commons  addressed  the  king 
to  put  a  stop  to  the  passing  it,  which  his  majesty  accordingly  complied  with, 
and  recalled  the  grant  ;  promising,  however,  to  find  some  other  way  of  showing 
his  favor  to  Lord  Portland,  who,  he  said,  had  deserved  it  by  long  and  faithful 

services ;  and  this  promise  the  king  after  made  good It  was  not  long 

after  King  William  recalled  these  grants  before  his  majesty  found  means  to 
make  Lord  Portland  others  in  recompense  for  the  revenues  of  the  principality 
of  Wales— namely,  a  grant  of  certain  buildings  in  Whitehall  for  forty-five  years 
at  the  rent  of  six  shillings  and  eightpence  ;  a  grant  of  the  manor  of  Grantham, 
in  the  county  of  Lincoln;  Honour  of  Penrith,  in  the  county  of  Cumberland ; 
manor  of  Dracklaw  and  Rudneth,  in  Cheshire ;  manor  of  Torrington,  in  Nor- 
folk ;  manors  of  Partington,  Bristol,  Garth,  Hornsey,  Thwing,  Burnisley,  and 
I. even,  in  the  county  of  York— all  parcel  of  the  ancient  revenue  of  the  crown  of 
England  ;  the  manor  of  Pevensey,  in  the  county  of  Sussex— parcel  of  the  duchy 
of  Lancaster ;  and  all  the  lands  and  tenements,  etc.,  thereunto  belonging,  to 
hold  to  his  lordship  and  his  heirs  ;  and  also  his  majesty's  manor  of  East  Green- 
wich, in  the  county  of  Kent,  tinder  the  rent  of  £4  :  13  :  4  a  year." 

The  present  effect  of  these  grants  is  exactly  equivalent  to  the  addition  of  the 
present  annual  value  of  these  lands  to  the  present  taxation  of  the  community 
of  Britain.  Had  the  lands  of  England  not  been  alienated  from  the  state,  there 
need  not  have  been  one  penny  of  taxation  on  the  industrious  classes. 


270         THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION. 

because  it  is  just  that  they  should  be  punished,  and  just 
that  there  should  be  laws  to  punish.  The  justice  of  the 
punishment  does  in  no  case  derive  from  the  law,  but  the 
whole  force  and  validity  of  the  law  derives  from  the 
justice  of  the  punishment ;  and  where  the  punishment  is 
not  just,  that  punishment  is  a  crime,  whatever  the  law 
may  be,  or  whatever  it  may  declare. 

One  striking  fact  is  apparent  in  considering  the  past 
history  of  laws  with  regard  to  crimes  and  property.  The 
laws  with  regard  to  crimes  have  been  considered  alter- 
able, the  laws  with  regard  to  property  have  been  con- 
sidered unalterable.  One  generation  of  legislators  and 
rulers  made  an  action  a  legal  crime ;  but  the  next  gener- 
ation did  not  on  that  account  consider  itself  bound  for- 
ever so  to  esteem  it.  On  the  contrary,  every  generation 
of  legislators  has  considered  itself  at  full  liberty  to  alter, 
revise,  amend,  and  abolish  such  laws,  according  to  its 
own  judgment.  But  with  regard  to  the  king's  gift  of 
lands  it  has  been  quite  otherwise.  The  deeds  of  past 
rulers  have  been  supposed  to  extend  to  all  future  genera- 
tions ;  and  the  doctrine  now  prevalent  is,  that  the  lands 
once  alienated  by  the  king's  gift,  could  not  be  reassumed  by 
the  nation  without  a  breach  of  equity — without,  in  fact, 
committing  that  crime  abhorrent  in  the  eyes  of  aristoc- 
racy, "  attacking  the  rights  of  property."  This  discrep- 
ancy is  at  once  explained,  when  we  reflect  that  the  legis- 
lators of  Britain  have  been  for  the  most  part  the  land- 
lords themselves,  or  those  so  immediately  connected  with 
their  interests,  that  the  government  was  to  all  intents 
and  purposes  a  landlordocrac}^.  But  the  question  still 
occurs,  and  must  occur  again  and  again,  "  If  the  acts  of 
past  rulers  were  not  morally  permanent  with  regard  to 
crime,  how  can  they  possibly  be  so  with  regard  to  prop- 
erty? and  if  they  are  morally  permanent  with  regard 
to  property,  how  can  they  be  otherwise  with  regard  to 
crime  ? 


THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION.        271 

We  have  now  to  show  that  crime  and  property  are  not 
distinct,  in  fact  that,  so  far  as  regards  legislation,  they 
are  identical;  and  that  the  laws  (or  king's  grants,  which 
are  in  fact  nothing  else  than  laws,  although  this  fact 
is  overlooked)  regarding  landed  property,  are  neither 
more  nor  less  than  laws  regarding  crime.  Property  is 
usually  regarded  as  an  object,  as  something  essentially 
distinguished  from  action.  Yet  we  shall  undertake  to 
show  that  action  alone  is  concerned,  and  that  all  laws 
regarding  property  are  merely  laws  regarding  action. 
And  if  we  succeed  in  doing  this,  we  have  unhinged  the 
superstition  that  prevails  on  the  subject  of  landed  prop- 
erty,— we  have  loosened  the  fabric  of  aristocracy,  and 
laid  open  a  question  that  for  many  years  to  come  will 
occupy  the  attention  of  Great  Britain.  There  is  already 
in  the  public  mind  a  very  extensive  suspicion  that  the 
present  distribution  of  the  land  is  the  true  and  main 
cause  of  England's  distress  and  Ireland's  wretchedness ; 
but  the  supposed  difficulty  of  presenting  a  scheme  which 
should  be  perfectly  just  in  theory,  and  practicable  and 
beneficial  if  carried  into  effect,  appears  to  have  deterred 
many  from  openly  attacking  the  question,  and  from  sub- 
jecting it  to  the  same  kind  of  calm  and  rational  investi- 
gation so  lavishly  accorded  to  other  questions  of  incom- 
parably less  importance.  The  apparent  hopelessness, 
also,  of  effecting  any  radical  change  in  the  present  sys- 
tem, and  the  fear  of  advocating  "wild"  doctrines,  have 
both  exerted  an  influence  in  repressing  investigation. 
This  apathy,  however,  cannot  continue  long.  "Whatever 
may  be  the  result,  the  investigation  cannot  fail  to  be 
made ;  and,  even  if  it  only  terminated  in  substantiating 
the  validity  of  the  "  rights  "  of  the  landlords,  it  would  be 
satisfactory  to  the  country  to  know,  that  there  was  truth 
and  not  superstition  at  the  bottom  of  the  arrangements. 
But  that  such  would  be  the  result  is,  at  all  events,  doubt- 
ful ;  and  when  the  country  is  thoroughly  convinced  of 


•21 '2         THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION. 

the  futility  of  the  .economical  schemes  that  appear  one 
after  another — and  it  is  fast  approaching  that  conviction 
— it  will  allow  the  administrators  of  the  government  to 
pursue  their  course  unheeded,  while  it  fixes  its  own  at- 
tention on  prospective  changes  far  more  extensive  than 
ever  could  emanate  from  a  government  constituted  like 
that  of  Britain. 

We  now  undertake  to  show  that  the  gift  of  land  by  the 
king,  is  nothing  more  than  a  la\r  affecting  action  ;  and, 
consequently,  is  of  the  same  character  as  a  law  relating 
to  crime.  '  And  if  so,  it  must  follow  the  general  course  of 
the  laws  relating  to  crime ;  and  if  those  laws  are  not 
morally  permanent,  neither  is  the  king's  gift  of  land 
morally  permanent,  but  may  be  revised,  amended,  or 
abolished,  exactly  in  the  same  manner  as  a  law  affecting 
crime.  And  over  and  above,  we  maintain,  that  neither 
the  one  nor  the  other  is  one  atom  more  valid,  or  more 
binding,  on  account  of  legislation,  but  that  they  are  right 
now,  or  wrong  now,  wholly  and  solely  according  to  their 
own  merits  ;  that  the  law  cannot  make  a  crime,  although 
the  law  may  call  an  action  by  this  name,  and  treat  it  as 
such ;  and  that  the  law  cannot  make  a  portion  of  land 
property  although  it  may  call  it  property.  Both  crime 
and  property  are  anterior  to  law,  and  superior  to  it :  and 
it  was  not  to  make  either  the  one  or  the  other,  but  to 
prevent  the  one  and  protect  the  other,  that  legislative 
law  was  called  into  existence.  Law  is  not  the  moral 
measure  of  right  and  wrong;  but  the  rule  of  practice 
•for  the  policeman,  constable,  jailer,  judge,  sheriff,  and 
hangman ;  and  until  law  is  absolutely  perfect,  there 
is  a  canon  higher  than  the  canon  of  law,  one  more 
valid  and  more  stable — the  canon  of  reason — to  which 
law  itself  must  be  subject. 

A  law  against  crime  is  a  public  declaration  that  certain 
acts  ought  not  to  be  performed ;  and  that  he  who  per- 
forms them  shall  be  visited  with  certain  specified 


77/7?  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION.       273 

alties.  This,  we  maintain,  is  exactly  the  essence  of  the 
king's  grant  of  landed  property.  Because — 

1st,  The  king's  grant  of  land  is  an  authorization  to  use 
the  land  in  favor  of  the  grantee.  And, 

2d,  The  king's  grant  is  a  prohibition  to  all  other  persons 
to  use  the  land.  And, 

3d,  The  law  declares  that  if  any  persons  use  the  land 
without  permission  of  the  grantee,  they  shall  be  punished. 

Now  the  essential  part  of  this  political  arrangement  is 
this: — "All  persons  in  the  nation  are  forbidden,  under 
pains  and  penalties,  to  use  a  certain  portion  of  land,  with 
the  exception  of  the  grantee,  or  by  his  permission." 
This,  then,  is  essentially  a  law  against  action — a  law 
declaring  that  to  use  a  certain  portion  of  land  is  a  crime 
for  the  vast  majority  of  the  population. 

Xow,  if  we  turn  to  the  effects  of  this  arrangement,  we 
find  that  the  grantee  is  in  no  respect  bound  to  make  the 
land  produce.  He  may  utterly  neglect  it;  nay,  he  may, 
as  has  actually  been  done  recently  in  the  Highlands  of 
Scotland  (and  as  the  king  himself  did  ages  ago  at  the  New 
Forest) — he  may  drive  off  the  population,  drive  off  the 
sheep  (the  food  of  man),  and  convert  the  district  into  a 
game  desert  for  his  own  amusement — he  having  plenty 
of  wealth,  derived  perhaps  from  other  lands,  wherewith 
to  support  these  costly  pleasures — at  the  expense  of  the 
nation.* 

Such,  on  the  side  of  the  grantee,  is  the  limit  of  liberty. 
Let  us  now  ask,  What  the  limit  is  on  the  part  of  the 
nation  ?  Xo  matter  what  may  be  the  state  of  the  land — 
even  if  it  is  lying  waste,  and  producing  nothing  for  man's 

*  "  The  Marquis  of  Breadalbane's  forest  of  Corrichebach,  or  the  Black  Mount 
in  Glenorchy,  was  restored  at  great  cost  (having  been  previously  converted 
into  sheep-walks)  in  1830  ;  it  covers  35,000  acres."— Quarterly  Review. 

That  is,  if  we  understand  the  passage  aright,  these  35,000  acres  were  formerly 
wild,  and  without  sheep.  Afterwards,  sheep  were  introduced,  and  consequently 
so  much  more  food  was  produced.  And  in  1820  the  sheep  were  driven  off.  and 
the  land  again  made  a  game  desert  for  the  amusement  of  a  single  individual. 
Rights  of  property  !  I  ! 

18 


274        THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION. 

support,  as  is  actually  the  case  in  many  parts  pf  the 
kingdom — no  man  in  Britain  may  put  into  it  a  spade  or  a 
potato,  to  save  his  family  from  starvation,  without  in- 
curring the  penalties  of  the  law.  Tie  would  be  a  criminal 
(the  law  would  call  him  so),  and  he  would  be  treated  as 
such. 

This  state  of  affairs  represents  the  extremes ;  and  all 
that  is  better  than  the  extremes  is  due,  not  to  the  law. 
but  to  the  laws  of  nature.  Now,  the  law  has  done  this 
grievous  injury ;  it  has  deprived  the  poor  of  the  natural 
remedy  whereby  they  would  have  corrected  so  enormous 
an  abuse.  Let  us  suppose  that  there  was  no  law,  and 
that  one  man  claimed  "thirty  thousand  acres  (see  last  Xote) 
for  his  amusement.  Other  persons  require  the  land  for 
their  support.  They  begin  to  occupy  it,  and  he  endeavors 
to  repel  them.  Now,  what  would  be  the  natural  conse- 
quence ?  What  ought  the  cultivators  to  do?  Should 
they  retire  and  starve  ?  or  expatriate  themselves?  They 
would  resist  the  aggression  by  force,  and  in  so  doing  they 
would  only  do  their  duty.*  But  the  law  will  not  allow 
them  to  resist.  The  law  has  first  deprived  them  of  the 
land,  and  then  enlisted  a  standing  army  to  prevent  them 
from  using  the  natural  means  of  recovering  it.  f 

But  independently  of  the  specific  character  of  the  actual 
laws  and  arrangements  prevalent  in  Britain,  we  take  the 
question  up  on  the  most  general  ground,  and  we  affirm, 
as  a  universal  proposition,  that  where  there  is  not  a  ques- 
tion of  action,  there  is  no  question  of  morals.  And,  con- 
sequently, if  any  object  be  treated  of  independently  of 

*  This  principle,  however  startling  in  words,  is  universally  acknowledged 
and  acted  on  by  civilized  communities.  When  they  form  colonies  in  lands  in- 
habited by  tribes  which  do  not  cultivate  the  soil,  but  occupy  it  as  a  hunting- 
ground,  the  cultivating  colonists  always  repel  the  aggression  of  the  hunters. 

t  Exactly  as  the  laws  of  Britain  did,  and  the  laws  of  the  Southern  States  do, 
first  deprive  a  man  of  his  natural  liberty,  and  then  use  the  power  of  the  state 
to  prevent  his  recovering  it  by  force.  One  of  the  most  curious  superstitions  in 
the  world,  is  the  belief  that  we  may  lawfully  go  to  war  with  foreign  men  for  a 
very  slight  cause  ;  and  that  we  must  not  go  to  war  with  what  people  call  our 
own  countrymen,  even  when  they  wrong  us  ten  times  more  than  the  foreigners. 


THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION.        275 

human  action,  it  does  not  come  within  the  limits  of 
morals,  and  can  give  rise  neither  to  crime  nor  to  duty. 
And,  consequently,  if  the'  land  be  separated  from  the 
question  of  human  action,  it  is  no  longer  property, 
but  a  mere  physical  object  that  enters  the  physical 
sciences.  And,  consequently,  the  moment  we  endeavor 
to  establish  a  distinction  between  laws  relating  to  prop- 
erty and  laws  relating  to  action,  we  have  obliterated, 
property,  and  left  only  land  in  its  physical  character,  and 
not  in  its  moral  character.  It  is  the  theory  of  human 
action  alone  that  can  make  land,  or  anything  else, 
property.  The  very  moment  we  have  used  the  word 
property  in  its  moral  sense,  as  giving  rise  to  duties 
and  crimes  (or  rather  becoming  the  object  of  duties  and 
crimes),  that  moment  have  we  involved  it  in  the  theory  of 
human  action,  from  which  it  can  never  be  separated  until 
we  return  it  to  its  physical  signification.  And,  when  so 
returned,  it  can  neither  be  the  object  of  a  duty  nor  of  a 
crime.  In  its  physical  sense,  land  can  give  rise  to  no 
crimes,  nor  can  it  ever  be  property  until  we  consider  it  as 
involved  in  the  doctrine  of  hitman  action. 

And  this  being  the  case,  the  laws  and  arrangements  of 
past  rulers  relating  to  property  are  in  no  possible  respect 
more  binding  than  their  laws  and  arrangements  relating 
to  crime,  property  being  onlj  a  concise  expression  of  a 
proposition  that  prohibits  actions  of  a  certain  character. 
Drop  the  prohibition  of  the  action,  and  the  property 
has  altogether  disappeared.  And,  consequently,  all  past 
arrangements  with  regard  to  land  are  as  open  to  be 
revised,  amended,  or  abolished,  as  past  arrangements  with 
regard  to  actions  called  crimes  ;  and,  consequently,  there 
is  no  such  thing  as  "  the  rights  of  landed  property " 
separated  from  the  mere  dictum  of  the  law,  which  the 
nation  has  an  undoubted  right  to  alter  or  abolish  when- 
ever it  shall  see  fit  to  do  so.  And  if  the  nation  were  to 
resolve  to  resume  and  take  back  all  lands  which  had  been 


276        THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION. 

granted  by  the  crown  (with  considerations  affecting  those 
individuals  who  had  purchased),  the  nation  would  not 
be  guilty  of  any  crime,  or  wrong,  or  impropriety ;  but 
would  be  exactly  in  the  same  position  as  it  is  when  it 
abolishes  laws  against  witchcraft,  or  laws  in  favor  of  the 
slave  trade,  or  laws  which  make  it  a  legal  crime  to  be  a 
Jew  or  a  Catholic. 

Superstition,  on  this  point,  may  endure  for  a  few  years 
longer;  but  no  truth  can  be  more  certain  than  that  God 
gave  the  land  for  the  benefit  of  all ;  and  if  any  arrange- 
ment interfere  with,  or  diminish  that  benefit,  then  has 
man  as  man,  as  the  recipient  of  God's  bounty,  an  un- 
doubted right  to  alter  or  abolish  that  arrangement,  exactly 
as  he  alters  his  arrangements  in  agriculture,  in  medicine, 
in  mechanics,  or  in  navigation.  No  more  crime,  and  no 
more  wrong  attaches  to  his  alterations  in  the  one  case 
than  in  the  other. 

"VVe  have  now,  therefore,  opened  up  the  way  for  a  con- 
sideration of  some  of  the  effects  that  may  reasonably  be 
expected  to  follow  the  discovery  of  political  science : — 

1st.  The  major  proposition,  "  Crime  ought  to  be  pre- 
vented; and  there  ought  to  be  laws,  and  an  executive 
administration  of  those  laws,  for  the  prevention  of  crime." 
This  major  proposition  is  not  in  dispute;  and  the  progres- 
sion of  man  in  his  political  aspect  does  not  consist  in  any 
alteration  to  be  made  in  the  major  proposition. 

2d.  The  minor  proposition,  "What  is  a  crime?  This 
and  that  action  are  crimes."  In  this  minor  lies  the  wholo^ 
essence  of  political  progression  and  political  amelioration. 
Political  improvement  takes  place  exactly  as  men  dis- 
cover and  definitely  determine  the  true  nature  of  crime ; 
and  exactly  as  they  confine  their  laws  to  the  prohibition 
nf  those  actions  which  are  crimes,  and  to  the  non-prohibi- 
tion of  those  actions  which  are  not  crimes.  The  laws  of 
man  cannot  make  a  crime,  neither  can  they  unmake  a 
crime.  Crime  is  logically  anterior  to  human  legislation, 


THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION.        277 

and  the  very  end  and  intent  of  legislation  in  its  first  and 
most  essential  capacity  is, — to  prevent  crime. 

All  nations  with  which  we  are  acquainted  have 
punished  as  crimes  actions  which  were  not  crimes ;  and 
the  gradual  improvement  of  the  laws  of  man  in  this  re- 
spect, is  one  of  the  great  phenomena  that  we  learn  from 
history.  On  the  gradual  alteration  of  the  laws  (of  Britain, 
for  instance)  may  be  based  a  most  conclusive  argument, 
that  political  science  is  undergoing  a  gradual  process  of 
discovery,  those  laws  being  altered  invariably  in  ac- 
cordance with  a  change  of  credence,  gradually  gaining 
ground  with  the  population. 

But  while  we  have  a  positive  major  proposition,  we 
have  also  a  negative  major  proposition,  which  is— 

"  Xo  action  that  is  not  a  crime  ought  to  be  prevented 
by  the  law." 

Now,  as  legislators  and  rules  are  only  men  (there  is  no 
divine  wisdom,  nor  divine  sacredness  *  about  them),  they 
may  be  the  criminals  as  well  as  any  of  the  population ; 
and  if  they  assume  powers  and  enforce  laws  which 
emanate  from  their  will  (and  not  from  an  impartial  judg- 
ment), they  are  exactly  in  the  case  of  an  individual  who 
commits  crime  by  resorting  to  violence. 

It  is  quite  easy  for  the  generality  of  writers  on  these 
subjects  to  treat  of  crime  as  committed  by  the  popula- 
tion. They  see  so  far,  and  sometimes  their  views  are 
valuable  and  correct.  But  they  have  first  perched  the 


*  James  I.  was  so  accustomed  to  regard  himself,  and  to  be  addressed  by  his 
flatterers  as  '  the  Lord's  anointed,'  '  the  vicegerent  of  God  upon  earth,'  in  fact, 
a  kind  of  deputed  deity,  that  he  was  constantly  tempted  to  accuse  his  subjects 
of  blasphemy  and  irreligion  when  they  presumed  to  oppose  his  will,  or  to  call  in 
question  his  lawless  assumptions  of  authority  ;  at  the  same  time  there  was  no 
f i  trm  of  impiety,  from  the  light  and  irreverent  mention  of  the  sacred  name  in 
familiar  speech,  to  profane  cursing  and  swearing,  and  to  the  blasphemous  and 
audacious  assumption  of  a  kind  of  parity  with  the  Supreme  Being,  by  vhk-h 

the  lips  and  mind  of  the  prince  himself  were  undeflled James  was  the 

first  of  England  to  whom  the   unappropriate  title  of  sacred   majesty  was 
applied."— Miss  Aikin's  Mem.  Court,  James  I. 


278         THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION. 

government  on  a  great  height,  which  they  do  not  intend 
to  survey  ;  and  then  confine  their  observations  to  the 
subject  population.  To  include  both  at  one  view  appears 
a  stretch  beyond  their  power,  and  hence  their  admirable 
dissertations  are  unsatisfactory ;  and  by  unsatisfactory, 
we  do  not  mean  that  they  are  not  distinguished  by  talent 
of  the  highest  order,  and  by  upright  sincerity  ;  but  that 
they  treat  only  one  portion  of  the  phenomenon,  and  omit 
its  correlative.  Exactly  as  if  one  were  to  write  an  able 
dissertation  on  the  earth's  motion,  furnishing  us  with  a 
perfect  diagram  and  specification  of  the  orbit,  and  an 
exact  determination  of  the  velocity,  and  yet  should  al- 
together omit  to  mention  the  sun.  Such  a  dissertation, 
let  its  details  be  as  perfect  as  they  may,  would  be 
altogether  unsatisfactory ;  because  the  correlative,  the 
sun,  has  not  been  exhibited  in  its  relations  to  the 
earth. 

And  so  it  is  with  crime.  He  who  studies  crime  as  a 
portion  of  man-science  (and  not  merely  as  accidentally 
treated  of  in  this  system  of  law  that  happens  to  be  in 
force  in  Britain,  or  that  system  of  law  that  happens  to  be 
in  force  in  another  country),  must  include  in  his  view  the 
whole  phenomenon,  and  must  inquire  what  does  man  do, 
as  man.  And  when  we  turn  to  Britain  with  this  princi- 
ple, we  must  regard  the  whole  population,  king,  lords, 
commons,  soldiers,  judges,  laborers,  paupers,  in  fact  the 
whole  mass  of  society,  as  merely  men.  And  when  we 
define  crime,  and  find  that  actions  coinciding  with  that 
definition  are  performed  by  any  of  these  parties,  by 
whatever  name  they  may  be  called,  or  under  whatever 
pretences  they  may  appear,  we  must  not  hesitate  to  call 
the  action  by  the  name  of  crime,  and  to  say,  this  is  a 
crime  committed  by  men.  Reverence  for  law  as  law,  as 
a  human  rule  of  action  de  facto  enacted. by  legislators,  is 
mere  debasing  superstition  ;  nor,  however  venerable  law 
may  be  in  some  men's  estimation,  do  we  consider  either 


THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION.        279 

their  law  or  their  worship  of  it  at  all  entitled  to  respect.* 
Men  venerate  law  and  care  nothing  for  justice,  just  as 
they  venerate  the  priest  and  forget  the  Deity.  And  if 
any  legislature,  or  any  king,  commit  an  act,  which  act 
would  not  be  equitable  between  two  individuals,  we  no 
more  hesitate  to  call  it  a  crime  in  the  one  case  as  well  as 
in  the  other.  And  when  legislators,  taking  advantage  of 
the  superstitious  veneration  which  men  still  have  for 
power  and  human  authority,  proceed  to  prohibit  actions 
which  are  not  crimes,  and  to  burden  the  population  with 
unequal  taxation,  and  to  exclude  large  portions  of  the 
population  from  equal  rights  in  the  eye  of  the  law  and  in 
the  scheme  of  the  State,  we  do  not  hesitate  to  affirm  that 
such  legislation  should  be  regarded  exactly  in  the  same 
light  that  individual  violence  or  restraint  would  be  re- 
garded. Men  are  the  agents,  the  actors,  in  the  one  case 
;is  well  as  in  the  other;  and  the  action  which  is  wrong 
for  individuals  without  titles,  is  equally  wrong  for  indi- 
viduals called  by  any  names  that  the  imagination  could 
devise.  Man,  as  man,  is  bound  by  the  moral  laws  of 

*  As  an  instance  of  the  manner  in  which  lawyers  regard  the  social  institutions 
of  men,  we  may  give  the  following  quotation  from  Crabb's  "  History  of  English 
Law."  p.  7  :— 

••  It  is  worthy  of  observation,  that  all  the  Saxon  lawgivers  showed  great 
wisdom  in  the  business  of  legislation,  by  admitting  no  laws  into  their  selections 
but  what  were  adapted  to  the  temper  and  manners  of  their  subjects,  being  for 
thf  most  part  taken  from  people  that  were  nearly  allied  to  themselves." 

On  the  very  next  page,  we  have  an  illustration  of  the  great  wisdom  of  the 
Saxon  lawgivers.  "  The  Saxon  people  were  divided  into  freemen  and  slaves." 

Slavery,  servitude,  villenage,  and  every  one  of  its  modifications,  is  a  political 
institution,  though  this  fact  is  apt  to  be  overlooked  when  the  slave  comes  to  be 
viewed  as  the  property  of  another  man.  But  what  is  politics  ? — the  system  of 
rules  which  ought  to  prevail  between  man  and  man  :  and  law  ought  to  consist 
of  those  rules  reduced  to  human  enactment.  Individual  injustice  may  make  a 
man  a  slave— and  the  action  is  a  crime— but  the  criminality  does  not  in  the 
slightest  degree  diminish  when  the  action  is  authorized  by  human  laws.  Now, 
in  a  country  that  has  assumed  the  form  of  a  State,  slavery  could  not  exist 
unless  it  were  authorized  by  the  law  ;  and  the  evil  influence  of  human  law  has 
Ij'-'-n.  that  it  sanctioned  this,  and  many  other  abominations,  using  the  armed 
force  of  the  State  for  their  continuance,  and  transmitting  them  to  posterity  as 
institutions  under  which  men  were  born,  and  which,  to  a  certain  degree,  were 
to  them  natural,  or  rather  habitual. 


280         THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION. 

justice,  and  no  arrangements  which  the  human  race  could 
make,  can  ever  emancipate  any  portion  of  that  race  from 
the  same  rules  and  requirements  that  are  binding  on  in- 
dividuals. The  whole  idea  of  a  ruler,  of  a  man,  or  body 
of  men,  who  may  interfere  with  others,  on  principles 
different  from  those  that  regulate  individual  or  private 
interference,  is  a  mere  idolatrous  superstition,  debasing 
in  its  influence  and  disastrous  in  its  effects.  The  Al- 
mighty Maker  and  Ruler  of  mankind  will  have  men 
subject  to  justice  and  not  to  men  ;  and  the  very  moment 
the  rules  of  justice,  which  vary  not,  nor  can  vary,  are 
departed  from,  that  moment  is  man  relieved  from  his 
allegiance  to  the  ruler ;  and  if  the  population  have  the 
power,  they  may  arrest  the  rulers,  and  bring  them  to  the 
same  judicial  trial  that  would  be  reserved  for  the  indi- 
vidual.* 

And  hence  the  necessity  for  a  "  science  of  justice,"  that 
men — definitely  ascertaining,  on  principles  which  are  not 
arbitrary,  the  real  actions  which  are  criminal — may 
appoint  a  first  magistrate  to  carry  into  execution  the  laws 
of  justice.  And  this  first  magistrate— king,  president,  or 
anything  else — is  not  to  govern  men,  but  to  regulate 
them  according  to  the  laws  of  equity  ;  and  in  performing 
this  function,  he  occupies  the  highest  position  to  which 
man  may  attain,  and,  performing  his  duties  with  impartial 
sincerity,  he  merits  the  constant  respect,  aid,  and  support 

*  This  principle,  although  frequently  represented  as  seditious,  is  not  or-ly 
clearly  acknowledged,  but  reduced  to  specific  law  in  Magna  Charta.  The  prin- 
ciple is  acknowledged,  although  the  application  of  it  is  restricted  to  twenty-five 
barons,  chosen  by  the  whole  of  the  barons  ;  and  a  reservation  is  made  in  favor 
of  the  persons  of  the  king,  queen,  and  royal  children.  Chapter  xxxviii.  speci- 
fies the  manner  in  which  four  barons,  chosen  out  of  the  twenty-five,  shall  notify 
any  grievance,  and  petition  to  have  it  redressed  without  delay  : — "And  if  it  is 
not  redressed  by  us  (the  king),  or  if  we  should  chance  to  be  out  of  the  realm, 
if  it  is  not  redressed  by  our  Justiciary  within  forty  days,  etc.,  the  four  barons 
aforesaid  shall  lay  the  cause  before  the  rest  of  the  twenty-five  barons,  and  the 
said  twenty-five  barons,  together  with  the  community  of  the  whole  kingdom, 
shall  distrain  and  distress  us  all  the  ways  possible  ;  namely,  by  seizing  our 
castles,  lands,  possessions,  etc." 


THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION.         281 

of  every  person  in  the  land.  This  portion  of  the  British 
constitution,  the  first  magistrate  king,  the  independent 
judges,  and  the  jury  from  the  locality,  is  unsurpassed,  if 
not  unequalled,  by  anything  in  the  whole  history  of  man. 
In  England,  we  have  in  this  portion  of  our  political 
mechanism  the  most  profound  reason  for  thankfulness  to 
God.  And  we  do  not  hesitate  to  make  a  curious  assertion 
— that  if  our  political  rulers  (those  who  tax  and  restrict 
us)  were  brought  into  the  courts  of  law  as  individuals 
performing  certain  specified  acts  towards  other  indi- 
viduals, the  ordinary  process  of  criminal  trial  by  jury, 
and  judge,  and  law,  would  at  once  rectify  nearly  every 
political  evil  in  the  country.  Had  the  slave-owner  been 
tried,  he  could  not  have  been  convicted  because  of  the 
law ;  but  had  the  legislature  been  tried  for  making  laws 
to  allow  slavery,  and  for  using  the  British  arms  to  support 
it,  there  can  be  no  question  that,  if  the  ordinary  decisions 
were  adhered  to,  the  jury  would  have  found  the  legislature 
guilty,  and  England  may  proudly  say  that  her  judges 
would  not  have  hesitated  to  pronounce  the  condemna- 
tion. 

Only  let  the  taxer  and  the  taxee,  who  is  excluded  from 
a  voice  in  the  representation,  be  viewed  as  two  men,  or 
two  bodies  of  men ;  let  them  enter  the  present  courts  of 
law,  and  let  the  case  be  tried  irrespective  of  political 
considerations,  and  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  taxee 
would  establish  his  right  to  dispose  of  his  property 
without  the  interference  of  the  taxer.  They  are  only 
men,  neighbors  ;  and  what  is  not  just  between  two  men, 
never  can  be  just,  however  great  the  number  of  in- 
dividuals, or  however  euphonious  the  names  that  may  be 
applied  to  them. 

This  principle  of  allowing  no  man  whatever,  and  no 
body  of  men  whatever,  to  emancipate  themselves  from  the 
strict  requirements  of  justice,  but  in  all  their  corporate 
actions  to  be  subject  to  the  same  principles  of  equity  that 


282        THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION. 

are  binding  on  the  individual — this  principle  is  the  great 
end  of  political  amelioration.  In  advocating  it,  we  teach 
doctrines,  it  is  true,  which  are  little  less  than  revolu- 
tionary ;  and  revolutions,  either  moral  or  physical,  there 
must  be  until  the  ultimate  term  of  man's  political  pro- 
gression is  evolved,  and  the  course  of  transition  from  the 
rule  of  power  to  the  rule  of  reason  is  complete.  We 
advocate,  not  a  breach  of  justice,  but  its  universal 
extension;  its  extension  to  all  the  acts  of  man  as  man, 
whether  he  appear  under  the  form  of  an  isolated  in- 
dividual, or  under  the  more  imposing  aspect  of  a  delib- 
erative assembly  and  executive  government,  ruling  the 
millions  of  a  State.  All  we  ask  is,  that  the  same  princi- 
ples that  regulate  the  laws  as  they  affect  individuals, 
should  be  extended  to  the  political  actions  of  the  rulers  ; 
and  if  once  this  principle  were  realized,  all  partiality, 
class  legislation,  privilege,  commercial  restriction, 
customs  laws,  game  laws,  etc.,  would  immediately  disap- 
pear. These  things  have  no  foundation  except  in  the  will 
of  the  rulers  ;  and  man,  as  man,  is  neither  bound  to  obey 
or  acknowledge  as  a  dispenser  of  justice  that  government 
that  persists  in  imposing  on  the  population  its  own  super- 
stitious and  destructive  devices,  instead  of  the  impartial 
laws  of  equity,  made  equally  for  all  men  and  equally 
administered. 

Under  these  circumstances,  it  may  be  affirmed  that  the 
first  great  effect  that  will  follow  the  discovery  of  political 
science,  is  the  definite  and  non-arbitrary  determination  oi 
the  great  minor,  "What  is  a  crime?"  And  this  being 
determined  according  to  a  scientific  method  which  shall 
command  the  assent  of  the  human  intellect,  the  practi- 
cal consequence  will  be  that  every  restriction  will  be 
removed  from  every  action  that  is  not  a  crime.  And 
consequently  there  will  be  perfect  freedom  for  every  man 
to  exercise  his  talents  and  his  industry  without  State 
interference,  or  restriction,  or  taxation  of  any  kind 


THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION.         283 

whatever,  so  long  as  he  shall  continue  to  refrain  from 
those  actions  which,  according  to  the  science  of  equity,  are 
demonstrated  to  be  crimes.  Progression — that  is,  change 
— must  be  anticipated  as  natural  and  necessary,  until  the 
political  aspect  of  mankind  shall  present  a  realization  of 
this  condition.  Definitely  to  determine  what  is  a  crime, 
and  what  is  not  a  crime,  is  one  of  the  first  great  problems 
of  political  science.  We  define"  crime  to  be,  "  a  breach  of 
equity  ;  "  *  and  consequently  we  maintain  that  whatever 
is  not  a  breach  of  equity  is  not  a  crime,  and  under  no 
circumstances  whatever  ought  to  be  prohibited  or 
restricted  by  the  laws.  Absolute  freedom,  then,  to 
perform  every  action  that  is  not  a  "breach  of  equity, 
constitutes  the  great  final  termination  of  man's  political 
progress,  so  far  as  liberty  is  concerned. 

But  what  is  man's  final  termination  with  regard  to  the 
other  great  substantive  of  politics,  property  ? 

Here  we  approach  a  subject  that,  in  the  course  of  a  few 
years  (in  all  probability),  will  be  the  great  element  of 
strife  and  contention.  Here  is  the  rock  on  which  England's 
famous  constitution  of  King,  Lords,  and  Commons,  will 
suffer  its  final  shipwreck.  Such  an  assertion  is,  of  course, 
at  present  a  mere  opinion  ;  but  if  the  scheme  we  have 
advanced  be  in  the  main  correct,  then  we  do  not  hesitate 
to  affirm,  that  if  we  continue  that  scheme  into  the  future, 
we  may  see  that  the  question  of  landed  property  will  be 
the  cause  of  a  stupendous  struggle  between  the  aristoc- 
racy and  the  laborocracy  of  Britain,  and  that  its  final 
settlement  will  entail  the  destruction  of  the  constitution. 
And  the  question  lies  in  narrow  bounds,  all  that  is 

*  It  may  perhaps  be  necessary  to  add,  "or  of  decency."  The  repression  of 
offences  against  decency  forms,  however,  a  very  small  portion  of  man's  politi- 
cal action.  With  the  exception  of  these,  and  the  observance  of  the  Sabbath, 
we  believe  our  definition  to  be  general.  It  is  the  true  political  definition  ;  but 
the  political  definition  does  not  exactly  include  everything  that  men  in  society 
have  to  take  into  consideration.  Political  science  is  abstract ;  but  the  real  sub. 
sf  antive,  man,  is  concrete  ;  and  his  conditions  must  be  considered  in  applying 
thj  science  to  his  circumstances. 


284         THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION: 

required  being  an  answer  to  a  question  virtually  the 
following  : — "Is  the  population  to  be  starved,  pauperized, 
and  expatriated,  or  is  the  aristocracy  to  be  destroyed  ?  "  * 
For  ourselves,  we  have  not  the  slightest  hesitation  in  pre 
dieting  the  final  result ;  but  what  may  be  the  mechanism 
of  the  changes  requires  altogether  a  different  course  of 
investigation.  On  the  mode  of  change  we  pronounce  no 
opinion;  but  on  the  matter  of  change  we  no  more  hesitate 
to  prognosticate  than  we  do  to  predict,  that  ere  a  few 
years  longer  the  millions  of  Russian  serfs  will  have 
gained  their  emancipation ;  and  surely  serfdom  is  as 
ancient  and  venerable  an  institution  as  aristocracy. 

Serfdom  and  aristocracy  are,  in  fact,  the  correlatives  of 
each  other.  Wherever  there  are  serfs,  there  there  are 
aristocrats ;  and  wherever  there  are  aristocrats,  there 
there  are  serfs  ;  and  though  the  laborers  of  England  are 
not  serfs  in  one  sense,  inasmuch  as  they  may  emigrate  if 
they  can  find  the  means,  they  are,  to  all  intents  and  pur- 
poses, serfs  so  long  as  they  remain  in  England.  It  is  a 
mere  fallacy  to  suppose  that  serfdom  has  been  abolished 
in  England.  It  has  not  been  abolished,  it  has  only  been 
generalized.  And  here  we  must  have  recourse  to  an 
illustration  to  show  that  serfdom,  or  even  slavery,  may 
be  abolished  in  appearance,  and  yet  retained  in  reality, 
the  means  of  compulsion  being  changed  with  the  advance 
of  society,  which  would  no  longer  tolerate  the  open  em- 
ployment of  individual  force. 

Let  us  suppose  an  island  divided  into  thirty  estates. 
These  estates  belong  to  thirty  proprietors,  and  are  cul- 
tivated by  slaves,  by  genuine  out-and-out  saleable  negroes. 
These  slaves  are  the  property  (!)  of  the  white  proprietors, 
each  of  whom  has  a  stock  of  one  hundred.  There  are  then 

*  By  the  destruction  of  the  aristocracy,  we  do  not  mean  the  destruction  of 
the  aristocrats,  any  more  than,  by  the  destruction  of  pauperism,  we  should 
mean  the  destruction  of  the  persons  of  the  paupers.  It  is  to  the  system  that  we 
refer  exclusively,  and  only  as  either  system  has  been  created  by  the  arrange- 
ments of  men. 


TIfE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION.         285 

thirty  proprietors,  and  three  thousand  laboring  slaves 
supported  by  the  island — the  slaves  having  sustenance 
and  the  labor,  the  proprietors  having  indolence  and  the 
luxury.  As  the  slaves  belong  to  the  proprietors,  they  are 
individual  slaves,  confined  to  the  cultivation  of  their  re- 
spective estates.  Let,  us  now  suppose  that  the  proprietors 
made  a  ne\v  arrangement  of  their  affairs  ;  that,  instead  of 
possessing  each  a  hundred  slaves,  they  thought  it  would 
be  more- convenient  to  establish  a  system  by  which  those 
proprietors  who  wanted  the  labor  of  more  at  any  par- 
ticular time  should  be  able  to  have  it,  and  those  who  at 
any  particular  time  had  not  work  for  a  hundred,  should 
relieve  themselves  of  the  expense  of  their  keep.  To  effect 
this,  and  to  throw  the  trouble  of  the  new  system  on  the 
slaves,  they  abandon  the  system  of  individual  slavery, 
and  generalize  it.  Each  proprietor  gives  up  his  right  to 
his  negroes ;  but  the  negroes  are  still  to  do  the  work  of 
the  island,  and  the  proprietors  are  still  to  have  the  profit. 
Xor  is  it  difficult  to  effect  this  arrangement  without  com- 
pulsion— all  that  is  necessary  being  to  establish  the  rule, 
that  the  negroes  shall  be  fed  by  those  for  whom  they 
work,  and  that  their  wages  shall  be  their  sustenance. 
All  the  land  being  in  the  hands  of  the  proprietors,  the 
negroes  can  obtain  support  only  by  laboring  for  the  pro- 
prietors. But  it  is  found  that  the  new  arrangement  has 
still  its  inconveniences.  At  certain  seasons  of  the  year 
there  is  not  work  for  the  whole  three  thousand  laborers  ; 
and  as  they  can  onty  obtain  support  from  the  'proprietors, 
the  latter  establish  a  general  or  corporate  fund  for  the 
sustenance  of  those  who  happen  to  be  out  of  employ. 
This  is  a  poor-law.* 

But  still  the  system  is  capable  of  improvement ;  that 
is,  more  of  the  trouble  may  be  allotted  to  the  negroes, 
without  the  profits  of  the  proprietors  being  interfered 

*  Readers  of  Henry  George's  "  Progress  and  Poverty  "  will  observe  that  Dove 
preceded  the  great  single  taper  in  the  use  of  a  pregnant  analysis  :— A.H. 


286         THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION. 

with.  The  proprietors  under  the  present  system  are 
obliged  to  provide  the  aliments  of  the  laborers,  and  this 
of  course  is  not  only  troublesome,  but  the  regulation  of 
the  quantity  is  attended  with  inconveniences.  The  pro- 
prietors therefore,  knowing  that  they  have  all  the  land, 
and  that  the  laborers  cannot  find  support  except  by  labor- 
ing for  them,  establish  an  intermediate  class  (of  shop- 
keepers), who  receive  the  provisions  from  the  proprietors 
and  dispense  them  to  the  laborers.  The  shopkeepers  are 
only  transformed  laborers,  employed  in  a  particular  de- 
partment of  the  economy  of  the  island. 

This  new  system,  however,  requires  a  means  of  exchange 
to  enable  the  proprietors  to  be  certain  that  none  of  the 
laborers  obtain  food  without  doing  the  necessary  work, 
and  labor  must  therefore  have  a  representative,  which 
shall  enable  the  laborer  to  obtain  his  day's  food  when  he 
has  done  his  day's  work.  This  representative  is  money. 
The  laborer  does  a  day's  work,  and  receives  a  coin,  a 
shell,  a  token,  or  a  piece  of  paper,  the  essential  character 
of  which  is — that  it  is  "  an  order  for  a  day's  food." 

But  the  shopkeeper  being  a  laborer,  must  receive  his 
own  food;  and  this  he  does  by  receiving  for  the  tokens 
which  represent  labor,  a  larger  quantity  from  the  pro- 
prietors than  the  quantity  he  gives  to  the  laborers. 

The  figure  might  be  extended,  and  the  system  of  modern 
society  might  be  made  to  grow  out  of  the  two  primary 
elements,  the  proprietor  and  the  slave. 

But  what  we  ask  is  this,  are  the  laborers,  when  their- 
slavery  has  been  generalized,  and  money  has  been,  intro- 
duced, are  they  not  still  the  serfs  of  the  proprietors  ? 
True,  the  proprietors  have  no  longer  individual  slaves, 
and  cannot  inflict  individual  punishments;  but  the  whole 
body  of  the  laborers  still  belong  to  the  whole  body  of 
the  proprietors,  inasmuch  as  the  land  belongs  to  the 
latter,  and  the  laborers  cannot  obtain  their  sustenance 
without  laboring  for  them. 


THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION.        287 


Now,  suppose  the  accumulated  profits  of  the  proprietors 
were  sufficient  to  enable  them  to  live  for  a  certain  num- 
ber of  years  without  the  cultivation  of  their  lands,  and 
they  should  by  any  mad  freak  resolve  to  do  so,  and  not 
to  employ  the  laborers  ;  the  latter  would  of  course  be  re- 
duced to  destitution  and  starvation  ;  so  that,  although  the 
individual  life  of  a  laborer  is  not  in  the  hands  of  an  in- 
dividual proprietor,  the  lives  of  the  whole  class  of  laborers 
would  be  in  the  hands  of  the  class  of  the  proprietors. 
And  if  a  large  proportion  of  the  latter  were  to  absent 
themselves  from  the  island,  and  not  to  cause  the  lands  to 
be  cultivated,  of  course  a  large  portion  of  the  laborers 
would  be  reduced  to  want,  or  perhaps  to  hunger-fever,  and 
death.  And  this  is  what  takes  place  in  Ireland.* 

Now,  are  not  the  laborers  serfs  under  these  circum- 
stances? We  maintain  that  they  are,  and  that  the 
laborers  t  of  England,  Ireland,  and  Scotland,  are  serfs ; 
though  the  name  is  a  disagreeable  one,  and  the  fact  of 
their  serfdom  is  concealed  by  the  economical  arrange- 
ments by  which  the  internal  business  of  the  country  is  car- 
ried on.  The  laborers  are  the  serfs,  and  the  proprietors 

*  General  statement  in  acres  of  the  cultivated,  uncultivated,  and  unprofit- 
able land  of  the  United  Kingdom.— (From  the  Third  Report  of  the  Emigration 
Committee.') 


Cultivated. 

Uncultivated 
wastes 
capable  of 
improve- 
ment. 

Un- 
profitable. 

Total. 

England 

25  632  000 

3,454,000 

3,256,400 

32,342,400 

-     . 

3  117  000 

530000 

1  105,000 

4,752  000 

Scotland  

5,265,000 

5,950,000 

8,523,930 

19,738,930 

Ireland. 

12  125  280 

4,900  000 

2  41  G'  061 

19  441  944 

British    Islands.  .  .  . 

383,690 

166,000 

569,469 

1,119,159 

46,522,970 

15,000,000 

15,871,463 

77,394,433 

*  By  laborers,  of.  course,  we  mean  all  who  labor  for  their  bread,  whether 
merchants,  manufacturers,  professional  men,  artisans,  farmers,  agricultural 
laborers,  operatives,  etc. 


28B        THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION. 

are  the  aristocracy ;  and  it  makes  little  or  no  difference 
whether  we  have  an  imaginary  island  with  thirty  pro- 
prietors and  three  thousand  laboring  serfs,  or  a  real  island 
with  thirty  thousand  proprietors  and  five  or  six  millions 
of  laboring  serfs.  Let  the  political  arrangements  be  what 
they  may,  let  there  be  universal  or  any  other  suffrage, 
so  long  as  the  aristocracy  have  all  the  land,  and  derive 
the  rent  of  it,  the  laborer  is  only  a  serf,  and  a  serf  he  will 
remain  until  he  has  uprooted  the  rights  of  private  landed 
property.  The  land  is  for  the  nation,  and  not  for  the 
aristocracy. 

We  affirm  then,  that  serfdom  has  not  been  abolished 
but  only  generalized  in  England,  Ireland,  and  Scotland  ; 
and  this  generalization  appears  to  be  the  step  of  transition 
through  which  society  must  pass,  in  its  progress  from  the 
condition  of  individual  lord  and  individual  serf,  to  the 
condition  of  equitable  equality,  in  which  there  shall  be 
no  lord  and  no  serf,  but  only  freemen  without  privileges 
and  without  oppressions.* 

*  "  These  villeins,  belonging  principally  to  lords  of  manors,  were  either  vil- 
leins regardant — that  is,  annexed  to  the  manor  or  land ;  or  else  they  were  in 
gross,  or  at  large— that  is,  annexed  to  the  person  of  the  lord,  and  transferable 
by  deed  from  one  owner  to  another.  They  could  not  leave  their  lord  without 
his  permission ;  but  if  they  ran  away,  or  were  purloined  from  him,  might  be 
claimed  and  recovered  by  action,  like  beasts  or  other  chattels.  They  held, 
indeed,  small  portions  of  land  by  way  of  sustaining  themselves  and  families  ; 
but  it  was  at  the  mere  will  of  the  lord,  who  might  dispossess  them  whenever  he 
pleased  ;  and  it  was  upon  villein  services— that  is,  to  carry  out  dung,  to  hedge 
and  ditch  the  lord's  demesnes,  and  any  other  the  meanest  offices ;  and  their 
services  were  not  only  base,  but  uncertain,  both  as  to  their  time  and  quantity. 
A  villein,  in  short,  was  in  much  the  same  state  with  us  as  Lord  Molesworth 
describes  to  be  that  of  the  boors  in  Denmark  ;  and  which  Stiernhoak  attributes 
also  to  the  traals  or  slaves  in  Sweden,  which  confirms  the  probability  of  their 
being  in  some  degree  monuments  of  the  Danish  tyranny.  A  villein  could 
acquire  no  property  either  in  lands  or  goods  ;  but,  if  he  purchased  either,  the 
lord  might  enter  upon  them,  oust  the  villein,  and  seize  them  to  his  own  use, 
unless  he  contrived  to  dispose  of  them  again  before  the  lord  had  seized  them  ; 
for  the  lord  had  then  lost  his  opportunity. 

"  In  many  places,  also,  a  fine  was  payable  to  the  lord  if  the  villein  presumed 
to  marry  his  daughter  to  any  one  without  leave  from  the  lord ;  and,  by  the 
common  law,  the  lord  might  also  bring  an  action  against  the  husband  for 
damages  in  thus  purloining  his  property."  Blackstone's  Commentaries,  book  ii., 
chap.  6. 


THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PEOGRESSION.         289 

But  it  is  necessary  to  understand  what  we  mean  by  a 
lord  and  a  serf. 

A  serf  is  a  man  who,  by  the  arrangements  of  mankind, 
is  deprived  of  the  object  on  which  he  might  expend  his 
labor,  or  of  the  natural  profit  that  results  from  his  labor ; 
and  consequently  is  under  the  necessity  of  supporting 
himself  and  his  family  by  his  labor  alone.  And  a  lord  or 
an  aristocrat  is  a  man  who,  by  the  arrangements  of  man- 
kind, is  made  to  possess  the  object ;  and  who  consequently 
can  support  himself  and  his  family  without  labor,  on  the 
profits  created  by  the  labor  of  others.  This  is  the  essential 
distinction  between  the  lord  and  the  serf ;  and  we  main- 
tain that  the  constitution  of  the  world  forbids  that  any 
arrangement  of  this  kind  should  result  in  any  other  than 
an  evil  condition  of  society,  which  must  necessarily  con- 
demn a  large  part  of  the  population  to  physical  degrada- 
tion, and  if  to  physical  degradation  to  moral  degradation. 
No  instance  can  be  adduced  of  a  population  reduced  to 
extreme  poverty  (as  must  ever  be  the  case  where  the  land, 
the  great  source  of  wealth,  is  allotted  to  a  few  who  labor 
not),  where  that  population  has  not  been  also  and  in  con- 
sequence reduced  to  moral  and  intellectual  degradation, 
and  where  the  spirit  of  man  has  not  been  depraved  and 
borne  down  by  the  circumstances  in  which  man,  and  not 
God,  has  placed  him.* 

*  Poverty  and  want  are  evils,  inasmuch  as  they  produce  human  suffering ; 
but  they  are  far  greater  evils,  as  they  tend  to  produce  the  deterioration  of 
man.  And  when  this  deterioration  is  produced  by  the  political  arrangements 
of  a  country,  with  regard  to  the  land  and  the  other  natural  sources  of  wealth, 
the  alteration  of  those  arrangements  becomes  a  moral  duty  of  the  very  highest 
character.  As  an  illustration  of  this  deterioriation  of  man,  we  quote  the  fol- 
lowing passage  from  the  Edinburgh  Review,  October  1848,  where  the  writer  is 
treating  of  man  scientifically,  and  without  reference  to  politics.  Let  the  reader 
contrast  this  passage  with  a  political  article  in  the  same  Number  of  the  Edin- 
burgh Review,  where  the  writer  appears  to  assert,  that  "  of  a  hundred  honest, 
industrious,  and  upright  men,  the  vast  majority  are  certain  to  do  well ;  accord- 
ing to  the  laws  of  nature  they  would  do  well,  but  according  to  the  laws  of 
Ireland  no  personal  qualifications  would  relieve  the  masses  from  hopeless 
poverty  so  long  as  the  present  political  arrangements  are  allowed  to  remain. 
In  Ireland,  the  object  of  labor  (the  land)  has  been  taken  from  the  inhabitants, 


290        THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PSOGSESSIO^T. 

In  endeavoring  to  estimate  what  must  be  the  ultimate 
condition  of  mankind  with  regard  to  natural  property,  we 
have  two  methods  of  determination  :— first,  that  of  polit- 
ical science  ;  second,  that  of  analogy,  based  on  the  actual 
history  of  the  past  evolution  of  mankind  with  regard  to 
natural  liberty.  We  have  already  stated  that  the  two 
great  substantives  of  politics  are  liberty  and  property. 
Each  of  these  gives  rise  to  a  course  of  evolution,  and  the 
two  courses  of  evolution  are  analogous  ;  that  is,  the  pro- 
cess is  similar,  while  the  substantives  involved  in  the 
process  are  diverse.  Thus  the  lord  and  the  serf  present 
the  furthest  possible  remove  from  equity,  both  as  regards 
liberty  and  as  regards  property  ;  and  the  process  by  which 
the  serf  gradually  emancipates  his  personal  actions  from 
the  power  of  the  lord,  may  be  taken  as  an  indication  of  the 
process  by  which  he  will  ultimately  succeed  in  depriving 
the  lord  of  his  exclusive  possession  of  the  earth,  and 
thereby  emancipating  his  own  labor  from  the  burdens 
that  oppress  it,  and  from  the  depreciation  of  value  which 
it  must  necessarily  experience,  so  long  as  the  great  body 
of  the  population  are  merely  laborers  for  the  lords.  And 
laborers  for  the  lords  the  great  body  of  the  population 
must  be,  so  long  as  the  soil,  the  mines,  the  fisheries,  etc., 
are  accorded  to  a  small  number  of  individual  proprietors. 

As   regards   personal  liberty,   the   lord   and  the  serf 

and  vast  districts  are  lying  unimproved  and  uncultivated  in  the  face  of  a  popu- 
lation willing  to  work  for  the  lowest  wages.  On  the  one  hand  is  the  land  lying 
idle,  and  on  the  other  is  the  labor  lying  idle;  and  the  landlordocracy  is  i',;e 
obstacle  that  prevents  the  two  from  being  brought  into  contact,  and  thereby 
securing  an  abundant  provision  for  the  population.  So  long  as  the  land  is  un- 
improved and  uncultivated,  it  is  nonsense  to  assert  that  Ireland  is  over-popu- 
lous, or  that  she  could  not  support  a  much  larger  population.  It  is  the  law, 
and  not  nature,  that  reduces  Ireland  to  starvation. 

"  Races  which  have  advanced  the  furthest  in  civilization,  and  attained  the 
greatest  perfection  of  physical  form,  produce  also  examples  of  physical  inferi- 
ority in  individuals  or  families.  Among  other  consequences  of  long-continued 
want  and  ignorance,  the  conformation  of  the  cranium  appears  to  have  been 
affected.  The  Sanatory  Commission  would  arrive  at  this  conclusion,  we 
believe,  were  it  to  examine  the  worst  part  of  the  pooulation  of  our  great  towns ; 
the  most  convincing  proof,  however,  is  unfortunately  furnished  by  the  lowest 


THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION.         "201 

present  the  greatest  possible  diversity.  They  are  the 
antipodes,  the  positive  and  negative  poles,  of  man's  pos- 
sible condition.  The  antagonism  cannot  be  greater — it  is 
absolute,  ultimate,  final.  Man  cannot  make  the  disparity 
more  perfect ;  it  is  the  absolute  dominion  of  strength, 
and  the  absolute  subjection  of  weakness.  The  lord  is  the 
possessor,  the  serf  is  the  possessed  ;  the  one  is  a  being  who 
commands,  the  other  a  thing  who  obeys.  The  one  has 
the  profit  without  the  labor,  the  other  the  labor  without 
the  profit. 

Such  a  condition — contrary  as  it  is  to  every  principle 
of  reason,  of  equity,  and  of  religion — is  not  only  estab- 
lished by  licentious  power,  but  authorized  and  perpetuated 
by  human  law.  And  thus  the  iniquity  was  made  to 
receive  a  sanction,  which,  although  based  on  the  darkest 
superstition,  yet  lent  a  kind  of  moral  authorization  to 
the  system,  and  enabled  the  lords  to  speak  of  their 


classes  of  the  Irish  population."  There  are  certain  districts  in  Leitrim,  Sligo, 
and  Mayo  (as  pointed  out  by  an  intelligent  writer  in  the  Dublin  University 
Magazine,  No.  48),  chiefly  inhabited  by  the  descendants  of  the  native  Irish, 
driven  by  the  British  from  Armagh  and  the  south  of  Down  about  two  centuries 
ago.  These  people  whose  ancestors  were  well-grown,  able-bodied,  and  comely, 
are  now  reduced  to  an  average  stature  of  five  feet  two  inches,  are  pot-bellied, 
bow-legged,  and  abortively  featured  ;  and  are  especially  remarkable  for  "  open 
projecting  mouths,  with  prominent  teeth  and  exposed  gums,  their  advancing 
cheekbones  and  tit-pressed  noses  bearing  barbarism  on  their  very  front."  In 
other  words,  within  so  short  a  period  they  seem  to  have  acquired  a  prognath- 
ous type  of  skull  [  "  The  third  type  of  configuration  of  the  skull  has  been  very 
happily  named  by  Dr.  Prichard  prognathous,  to  express  its  most  distinctive 
character  ;  namely,  the  forward  prominence  of  the  jaws  "  ],  like  the  savages  of 
Australia,  "thus  giving  an  example  of  deterioration  from  known  causes,  as 
almost  compensates  by  its  value  to  future  ages  for  the  suffering  and  debase- 
ment which  past  generations  have  endured  in  perfecting  its  appalling  lesson." 
••  Tli"  hordes  i.f  wretched  Irish,  whom  famine  has  driven  to  seek  subsistence  in 
the  sea-ports  and  manufacturing  towns  of  Great  Britain  must  have  enabled 
many  of  our  readers  to  make  this  observation  for  themselves  :  every  gradation 
being  perceptible,  from  the  really  noble  type  of  countenance  and  figure  seen  in 
•1"  them,  to  that  utterly  debased  aspect  which  can  be  looked  at  only  with 

disgust In  both  cases  (the  Irish  and  the  Australians i.  the  same  cause 

—a  long-continued  deficiency  of  food  and  social  degradation  (where  a  sufficient 
elevation  to  resirf,  these  depressing  agencies  had  not  been  previously  attained) 
—has  terminated  in  the  same  results." — Edinburgh  Remeiv,  October  1848. 
P.  443. 


292         THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION. 

rights ;  while  the  serfs,  on  the  other  hand,  were  im- 
pressed with  a  kind  of  fear  that  they  might  be  doing 
wrong  when  they  resorted  to  force  to  rid  themselves  of 
the  oppression. 

And  the  history  of  the  acquisition  of  liberty  (in  Britain, 
for  instance)  is  only  the  history  of  the  gradual  destruc- 
tion of  the  privileges  of  the  lord,  and  of  the  legal  title 
which  the  serf  has  from  time  to  time  succeeded  in  estab- 
lishing to  those  natural  rights  oi'  which  he  had  been  de- 
prived. The  vast  transformations  that  have  taken  place 
in  the  social  conditions  of  Englishmen  may  be  concisely 
expressed  in  the  proposition,  that  "  they  have  gradually, 
and  through  the  course  of  many  centuries,  been  progress- 
ing from  the  extreme  of  antagonism  and  disparity  to- 
wards absolute  equality  in  the  eye  of  the  law,  so  far  as 
the  matter  of  liberty  is  concerned."  *  It  is  true  that  this 
process  is  not  yet  complete,  and  that  considerable  changes 
must  yet  take  place  before  the  government  of  the  coun- 
try becomes  the  impartial  administrator  of  equal  law, 
made  the  same  for  every  inhabitant  of  the  country, 
without  the  slightest  distinction  of  individuals  or  of 
classes,  except  in  so  far  as  individuals  may  be  made  to 
fill  offices ;  which  offices  may  have  peculiar  duties,  pecul- 
iar responsibilities,  and  peculiar  remunerations  attached 
to  them.  But  this  question  of  official  disparity  is  a  mere 
question  of  executive  administration,  similar  to  the  ap- 

*  "  The  rest  of  their  slaves  have  not,  like  ours,  particular  employments  al- 
lotted to  them.  Each  is  the  master  of  a  habitation  and  household  of  his  own. 
The  lord  requires  from  him  a  certain  quantity  of  grain,  cattle,  or  cloth,  as  from 
a  tenant ;  and  so  far  only  the  subjection  of  the  slave  extends.  His  domestic 
offices  are  performed  by  his  own  wife  and  children.  It  is  unusual  to  scourge  a 
slave,  or  punish  him  with  chains  or  hard  labor.  They  are  sometimes  killed  by 
their  masters ;  not  through  severity  of  chastisement,  but  in  the  heat  of  passion, 
like  an  enemy,  with  this  difference,  that  it  is  done  with  impunity.  Freedmen 
(manumitted  slaves)  are  little  superior  to  slaves,  seldom  filling  any  important 
office  in  the  family  ;  never  in  the  state,  except  in  those  tribes  which  are  under 
regal  government.  There  they  rise  above  the  f reeborn,  and  even  the  nobles ; 
in  the  rest,  the  subordinate  condition  of  the  freedmen  is  a  proof  of  freedom. — 
Tacitus.  Manners  of  the  Germans,  xxv.  (Aiken's  Translation.) 


THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION.         293 

pointment  of  directors  or  managers  in  a  corporate  con- 
cern, where  some  are  appointed  to  act  for  all ;  without, 
however,  establishing  any  disparity  of  rights,  but  only 
such  a  disparity  of  functions  as  the  common  judgment 
of  the  society  may  find  advisable  for  the  success  of  its 
operations. 

If,  then,  the  progress  of  modern  society  has  been  a 
gradual  but  sure  progress  from  the  extreme  of  disparity 
towards  absolute  parity  in  the  eye  of  the  law,  so  far  as 
personal  liberty  is  concerned,  we  have  only  to  identify 
the  laws  of  property  with  the  laws  of  liberty  to  arrive  at 
a  firm  conviction,  that  the  progress  will  continue  in  the 
same  direction  until  parity  in  the  eye  of  the  law  shall  be 
evolved,  so  far  as  natural  property  is  concerned.  If  we 
were  to  view  the  laws  relating  to  natural  property  (the 
earth)  as  distinct  from  the  laws  relating  to  personal 
liberty,  then  we  should  base  an  argument  on  analogy, 
and  we  should  maintain  that  the  evolution  that  has  taken 
place  in  the  matter  of  liberty  would  also  take  place  in 
the  matter  of  natural  property.  And  this  argument 
would  be  valid,  and  would  afford  a  high  probability  that 
the  equalization  of  natural  property  was  to  be  anticipated 
as  the  conclusion  of  human  evolution  in  that  depart- 
ment. 

But  if  property  be  considered  as  one  of  the  substan- 
tives of  moral  dynamics,  and  if  we  reason  the  question 
on  the  scheme  of  human  action — inquiring,  not  into  the 
laws  that  have  reference  to  the  object,  but  into  the  laws 
that  have  reference  to  man  and  man's  actions — we  thereby 
identify  the  laws  of  liberty  and  the  laws  of  property,  and 
come  to  view  both  as  the  laws  that  should  preside  over 
human  function  ;  because,  to  allocate  a  certain  portion  of 
the  earth  to  one  individual,  is  only  to  prohibit  all  other 
individuals  from  using  that  portion,  and  the  question, 
viewed  in  this  light,  can  only  be  argued  as  a  branch  of 
the  more  general  question,  "  How  can  one  man  justly  lay 


294        THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION. 

restrictions  on  another  man  ?  "  And  when  the  question 
is  viewed  in  this  light,  it  is  plainly  evident  that  there  is 
no  such  thing  as  a  law  of  property,  distinct  and  separate 
from  a  law  of  liberty,  but  that  the  theory  of  liberty  must 
include  the  theory  of  property;  and  if  the  time  should 
come  when  the  law  shall  be  impartial  with  regard  to 
human  action,  then  of  necessity  must  the  law  be  impartial 
with  regard  to  natural  property — in  fact,  with  regard  to 
everything  that  is  not  created  by  the  skill  and  labor  of  the 
individual. 

Let  us  consider  that  the  very  essence  of  just  law,  is,  that 
it  is  "  no  respecter  of  persons,"  and  that  d  priori  it  acknowl- 
edges no  difference  and  no  distinction  between  thelndivid- 
uals  who  are  to  be  regulated  by  its  enactments.  Law,  to 
be  just,  must  be  the  same  for  all  the  individuals  who  are  to 
be  subject  to  it;  and  if  law  be  made  in  such  a  manner  that 
it  imposes  on  one  man  a  restriction  which  it  does  not  impose 
on  another,  then  is  that  law  not  just  nor  is  man  morally 
bound  to  acknowledge  it  or  obey  it.  The  validity  of  law 
depends  exclusively  on  its  equity  and  impartiality ;  and 
wherever  the  law  starts  by  acknowledging  or  establish- 
ing diversities  of  privileges,  there  is  the  law  unjust,  par- 
tial, and  wicked;  and  it  is  the  duty  of  man,  as  man,  to 
destroy  that  law,  and  to  re-establish  the  equilibrium  of 
equity,  which  ought  never  to  have  been  disturbed.  The 
very  end  and  intention  of  impartial  law  is  the  prevention 
of  the  disturbance  of  the  equilibrium  of  equity ;  and 
where  the  law,  instead  of  preventing  this  disturbance, 
originates,  defends,  and  perpetuates  it,  that  law  has  alto- 
gether departed  from  the  true  intention  of  law,  and  its 
abolition  is  absolutely  necessary  before  man  can  attain  to 
the  best  condition  possible  for  him  on  earth. 

We  are  fully  aware  that  there  exists  in  the  minds  of 
many  persons  a  vague  apprehension,  that  if  the  present 
laws  relating  to  landed  property  were  to  be  disturbed, 
evils  of  the  most  malignant  character  would  invade  the 


THE  THEORY  OF  LLUMAN  PROGRESSION.        295 

society  of  Britain.  Nothing  can  be  more  absurd,  more 
puerile,  more  dastardly.  The  very  same  fears  have  pre- 
vailed with  regard  to  every  other  change  that  has  taken 
place ;  and,  down  to  the  last  change  that  man  shall  make 
in  his  political  arrangements,  we  may  rest  satisfied  that 
the  craven,  the  placeman,  and  the  aristocrat  will  not  fail 
to  vent  loud  lamentations  on  the  evils  which,  in  their 
estimation,  are  sure  to  follow.  The  oft- repeated  quotation 
from  the  great  bard,  "  'Tis  better  to  bear  the  ills  we  have, 
than  fly  to  others  that  we  know  not  of,"  is  dragged  in  to 
give  the  sanction  of  that  proud  name  to  fears  which  he 
would  have  regarded  with  scorn,  and  to  interested  repre- 
sentations which  he  would  have  rejected  with  detestation. 
True,  in  Shakespeare's  sense,  it  is  better  to  bear  the  ills  of 
human  life  than  to  rush  with  the  red  hand  into  the  pres- 
ence of  the  Almighty  giver  of  life.  True,  this  is  true. 
And  even  in  our  own  lot  it  may  be  better  to  bear  one 
worldly  evil  than  to  make  a  change  which  might  entail 
other  worldly  evils  which  we  know  not  of.  This  also  is 
true.  But  surely  none  can  be  so  besotted  as  not  to  per- 
ceive that  the  question  comes  in  another  form,  and  that  a 
new  reading  must  be  adopted  before  we  can  have  an 
applicable  sentiment.  The  question,  wherever  there  is 
injustice,  is  not,  whether  it  is  better  to  bear  the  ills  we 
have?  but,  whether  it  is  better  to  make  others  bear  the 
ills  we  inflict  upon  them  ?  and,  whether  it  is  better  for 
them  to  bear  the  ills  which  men  inflict,  than  fly  to  changes 
which  deliver  the  oppressed  from  the  pain,  and  the  op- 
pressor from  the  sin  of  the  injustice? 

But  while  we  maintain  that  the  continual  progress  of 
mankind  is  towards  equality  in  the  eye  of  the  law,  and 
that  as  men  were  once  at  the  utmost  extreme  of  inequality, 
and  have  been  gradually  and  surely  decreasing  that  in- 
equality ;  and  consequently  that  we  have  the  evidence  of 
past  history  to  give  us  the  line  of  progress,  and  the 
evidence  of  reason  that,  if  that  line  continue,  it  must 


296         TI1E  THEORY  OF  I1UMAN  PROGRESSION. 

terminate  in  the  total  abolition  of  privilege  and  the  es- 
tablishment of  absolute  equality  ;  we  have  also  the  dogma 
of  political  science,  which  proves  equality  to  be  right, 
and  evidence  from  the  other  sciences  to  prove,  that  what  is 
right  ultimately  comes  to  be  adopted  in  practice. 

This  portion  of  the  argument  presents  itself  in  the  fol- 
lowing aspect. 

1st.  There  is  no  possibility  of  establishing  a  diversity 
of  rights  between  the  various  individuals  of  which  the 
human  race  is  composed,  in  so  far  as  those  individuals 
enter  into  relation  with  each  other  for  the  formation  of  a 
state  or  community  acting  for  the  common  advantage. 

In  saying  that  there  is  no  possibility  of  establishing 
such  a  diversity  of  rights,  we  mean,  that  there  is  no 
natural  source  of  knowledge  whatever  from  which  such 
a  diversity  could  possibly  flow.  There  may  be  a  diver- 
sity of  strength,  or  of  intellect,  or  of  skill,  or  of  cunning  ; 
but  the  very  moment  we  admit  an  abstract  or  general 
moral  law,  we  absolutely  obliterate  the  possibility  of 
a  diversity  of  rights.  Men  find  themselves  on  the 
surface  of  the  globe,  and  find  themselves  also  pos- 
sessed of  a  reason  which  furnishes  general  propositions 
applicable  to  the  race;  and  there  exists  no  natural  means 
whatever  of  determining  what  individual  men  should 
possess  more  rights  than  their  fellows,  or  what  indi- 
vidual men  should  possess  fewer  rights  than  their  fellows. 
The  only  possible  means  by  which  such  a  diversity  could 
be  established,  would  be  a  revelation  from  the  Creator  oi 
mankind;  and  except  in  the  one  case,  of  the  Hebrew 
nation,  we  have  no  evidence  that  the-  Creator  has  ever 
pointed  out  any  individuals,  or  any  families,  who  were  to 
enjoy  specified  rights,  in  contradistinction  to  the  general 
rights  which  men  derive  from  the  intuitions  of  the  reason. 

2d.  Men  having  fallen  from  the  first  estate  in  which 
they  were  created,  have  in  their  moral  actions  and  polit- 
ical arrangements  followed,  not  the  dictates  of  their  irn- 


THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION.       297 

partial  reason,  but  the  dictates  of  their  selfish  passions  ; 
and  thus  those  in  power  have  not  only  acted  wrongfully, 
but  have  enacted  wrong,  bad,  and  wicked  laws,  thereby 
perpetuating  the  injustice  under  the  formal  sanction  of 
legislation. 

3d.  On  this  account  human  IUAVS  and  human  arrange- 
ments, instead  of  being  impartial  and  for  the  benefit  of 
human  society  at  large,  have  originated  and  perpetuated 
systems  of  partiality,  whereby  power  and  privilege  were 
accorded  to  certain  individuals,  families,  classes,  castes, 
etc.,  at  the  expense  of  the  other  members  of  the  race ; 
who,  of  necessity,  were  restricted  in  their  rights  in  the 
same  ratio  that  the  privileged  classes  were  endowed  with 
privileges. 

4th.  Human  society,  therefore,  instead  of  presenting  an 
ethically  homogeneous  aspect,  resulting  from  the  univer- 
sal prevalence  of  impartial  law  (which  laid  on  all  exactly 
the  same  moral  restrictions,  and  which  accorded  to  all 
exactly  the  same  liberty  for  the  development  of  individual 
labor,  skill,  industry,  and  enterprise),  has  exhibited  the 
human  race  as  divided  into  classes  endowed  with  diverse 
privileges;  and  has  figured  forth  the  antagonism  of  the 
oppressor  and  the  oppressed,  instead  of  the  harmony  of 
equal  freemen,  each  developing  his  own  fortunes  within 
those  moral  restrictions  which  are  immutable. 

5th.  But  the  arrangements  of  mankind  have  not  only 
established  diversities  of  rights  affecting  mere  action  (in 
Britain,  for  instance,  we  have  a  franchised  class  and  an 
unfranchised  class;  that  is,  a  freed  class,  or  class  of  freed 
serfs,  and  an  unfreed  class,  or  class  of  laboring  serfs  not 
yet  freed),  but  they  have  established  diversities  of  rights 
affecting  the  possession  of  the  earth,  which  the  Creator 
intended  for  the  race ;  and  thus  one  man  was  endowed 
with  vast  extents  of  territory,  while,  on  the  other  hand, 
multitudes  were  thereby  necessarily  deprived  of  every- 
thing except  their  labor.  So  singular  a  system  could  only 


298         THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION. 

originate  in  the  reign  of  power,  and  could  only  be  perpet- 
uated through  the  ignorance  of  the  masses  of  the  popula- 
tion. But  the  arrangements  of  mankind  with  regard  to 
the  earth  did  not  stop  here.  One  generation  was  not  con- 
tent with  making  arrangements  which  were  to  be  in  force 
for  that  generation  alone;  but  laws  were  enacted,  and 
customs  were  acknowledged,  whereby  the  arrangements 
of  one  generation  were  to  descend  to  future  generations, 
and  to  be  imposed  on  men  not  yet  born,  who  were  to  be 
born  into  a  world  already  portioned  out,  and  consequently 
to  which  they  had  no  title.  Those,  therefore,  who  were 
born  into  the  world  in  a  country  where  the  land  had  been 
accorded  to  individual  proprietors,  could  obtain  their 
livelihood  only  by  laboring  for  other  men ;  and  as  those 
to  whom  the  land  had  been  accorded  could  not  cultivate  it 
themselves,  and  as  the  land  was  required  for  the  support 
of  the  population,  the  laborers  were  under  the  necessity 
of  paying  a  rent  to  those  who  thus  procured  a  vast  revenue 
without  labor.  This  system  of  diversity  of  rights  to 
the  natural  earth,  which  God  intended  for  the  race,  being 
perpetuated  from  generation  to  generation,  entails  with 
it,  as  its  necessary  attendant,  that  baneful  condition  of 
society,  in  which  we  have  a  few  aristocrats  endowed  with 
vast  wealth  without  labor,  and  a  multitude  of  laborers 
reduced  to  poverty,*  destitution,  and  sometimes  to  actual 
starvation,  f 

*  "  La  condition  des  paysans  est  des  plus  malheureuses.  Les  fortunes  sont  tel- 
lement  disproportionnees,  qu'on  ne  voit  que  des  riches  et  des  pauvres,  les  petits 
proprietaires  sont  fort  rares.  II  en  resulte  un  manque  d'emulation  et  de 
courage  pour  fonder  des  etablissements  d'industrie  et  pour  ameliorer  Tagricul- 
ture."— Diet.  Geog.  Univ.,  Art.  Calabre. 

t  One  would  scarcely  imagine  that  in  London,  the  wealthiest  city  in  the 
world,  people  could  be  starved  to  death.  We  mention  an  incident  that  came 
within  our  own  experience.  Some  years  ago  we  were  present  at  a  dispensary, 
one  of  those  admirable  and  unostentatious  institutions  established  to  afford 
medical  relief  to  the  poor  in  London,  and  supported  principally  by  the  efforts 
of  the  medical  officers.  A  widow  appeared  as  a  patient.  She  stated  that  she 
had  six  children  to  support,  and  that  her  whole  earnings  amounted  t»7s.  a 
week.  We  saw  the  medical  officer  shake  his  head,  doubting  that  the  cas>>  was 


THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION.        299 

6th.  The  whole  idea  of  a  diversity  of  rights  and  priv- 
ileges originates  in  the  corrupted  hea'rt  of  mankind, 
and  in  the  darkened  intellect  that  has  allowed  super- 
stition to  dictate  its  credence  instead  of  basing  its  prop- 
ositions on  the  axioms  of  the  reason. 

However  long  men  may  be  in  coming  to  the  conclusion, 
they  must  ultimately  accord  that  there  are  no  natural 
means  known  by  which  a  diversity  of  rights  could  pos- 
sibly be  established.  A  diversity  of  rights  implies,  that 
some  individuals  are  to  be  endowed  with  certain  privi- 
leges not  common  to  the  race.  And  these  individuals 
would  require  to  be  recognizable.  Now,  no  natural  means 
whatever,  no  methods  of  appreciation  known  to  man,  ever 
did,  or  ever  could,  enable  the  human  race  to  say,  &  priori, 
"  This  individual  is  entitled  to  more  rights  than  that  in- 
dividual." Nothing  but  a  revelation  from  the  Creator 
could  ever  establish  such  a  distinction  ;  and  consequently 
all  diversities  in  the  human  race  must  be  diversities  of 
office,  and  diversities  of  condition,  produced  by  the  more 
or  less  successful  result  of  individual  labor,  enterprise,  or 
skill.  Every  other  diversity  is  contrary  to  reason ;  and 
when  established  by  human  law,  such  law  is  bad,  wrong, 
and  wicked,  and  ought  to  be  abolished. 

7th.  The  whole  history  of  man  informs   us  that  the 

beyond  the  reach  of  medicine.  The  surgeon  was  a  humane  man,  and  he  did 
what  he  could  for  her.  Some  months  after,  we  saw  him  again,  and  inquired  for 
the  widow.  She  had  died.  We  asked  the  nature  of  her  disease  ;  and  the  reply 
She  died  of  starvation!"  With  the  hand  of  death  upon  her  she  had 
labored  for  her  children,  and  at  last  she  died  .for  want  of  food.  Such  is 
London. 

Does  the  reader  suppose  such  things  do  not  occur  ?  Let  us  take  a  sketch  by 
the  great  depict. >r  of  modern  manners,  Mr.  Charles  Dickens  :— 

"  '  Ah  !  '  said  the  man,  bursting  into  tears,  and  sinking  on  his  knees  at  the 
;he  dead  woman  ;  Kneel  down,  kneel  down— kneel  round  her  every  one 
of  you.  and  mark  my  words.  I  say  she  starved  to  death.  I  never  knew  how 
bad  she  was  till  the  fever  came  upon  her,  and  then  her  bones  were  starting 
through  the  skin.  There  was  neither  flre  nor  candle  ;  she  died  in  the  dark— in 
the  dark:  She  couldn't  even  see  her  children's,  faces,  though  we  heard  her 
gasping  out  their  names.  I  begged  for  her  in  the  streets,  and  they  sent  me  to 
prison.  When  I  came  back,  she  was  dying ;  and  ajl  the  blood  in  my  heart  was 


300        THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION. 

human  race  is  gradually  emerging  from  superstition, 
gradually  acquiring  knowledge,  and  gradually  applying 
that  knowledge  to  rectify  the  arrangements  which  were 
made  in  times  of  superstition.  And  history  also  informs 
us,  that  wherever  truth  is  substantiated,  it  does,  sooner 
or  later,  receive  the  assent  of  the  human  intellect;  and 
though  the  progress  has  been  partial,  both  as  regards  the 
quantity  of  truth  received,  and  the  extent  to  which  it  has 
been  received  by  the  nations  of  the  earth,  the  advances 
already  made  leave  no  possible  doubt  as  to  the  system, 
process,  or  scheme,  according  to  which  man  abandons 
superstition,  and  adheres  at  last  to  those  propositions 
which  are  properly  substantiated.  In  every  department 
of  human  action,  we  may  in  the  present  day  observe  the 
gradual  substitution  of  scientific  method  for  empirical 
method,  or  for  the  fictions  of  superstition ;  and  as  no 
doubt  can  possibly  be  entertained  that  men  are  now  ap- 
proaching man-science,  we  may  rest  satisfied  that  the 
political  relations  of  men  will,  ere  long,  be  treated  accord- 
ing to  a  scientific  method — that  fictions  will  be  abandoned, 
and  that  arrangements  will  be  made  in  accordance  with 
the  dictates  of  the  reason,  instead  of  emanating  from  the 
right  of  the  strongest,  confirmed  by  legislation. 

8th.  The  great  theoretic  change  that  must  take  place  in 
Britain,  is  the  abolition  of  the  belief  that  one  generation 

dried  up,  for  they  starved  her  to  death.  I  swear  it  before  the  God  that  saw  it, 
—they  starved  her  1 '  He  twined  his  hands  in  his  hair  and  with  a  loud  scream 
rolled  grovelling  upon  the  floor,  his  eyes  fixed,  and  the  foam  gushiug  from  his 
lips." — Oliver  Twist. 

Fain  would  we  express  a  hope  that  Mr.  Dickens,  to  whom  God  has  given  so 
admirable  a  genius,  might  one  day  turn  his  attention  to  the  condition  of  the 
laboring  classes  in  the  manufacturing  towns  of  England.*  He  might  then 
become  indeed  a  benefactor  to  his  country ;  and,  as  no  pen  can  command  a 
more  powerful  interest  than  his  own,  he  might  reap  the  noble  satisfaction  of 
alleviating  those  dreadful  evils  that  prey  on  the  population.  The  warning 
voice  might,  it  is  true,  ba  heard  in  vain  ;  but  so  certainly  as  those  evils  are  not 
removed  by  better  social  conditions,  accompanied  by  moral  and  intellectual 
education,  so  certainly  will  they  one  day  produce  their  natural  fruits  of  frantic 
revolt. 

*  Dickens  did  this  subsequently,  see  his  Hard  Times.  A.  H 


THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION.         301 

of  men  can  be  bound  by  the  arrangements  of  past  gener- 
ations ;  and,  instead  of  that  belief,  the  substitution  of  a 
belief  that  men  in  every  age  must  be  governed  by  reason ; 
that,  whatever  the  arrangements  or  laws  of  past  gener- 
ations may  have  been,  those  arrangements  or  laws  are 
binding  now  only  in  so  far  as  they  are  now  right,  quite  in- 
dependently of  any  sanction  they  may  have  received  from 
legislation.  The  acts  of  past  men  are  no  more  binding 
on  present  men  in  matters  of  politics,  than  they  are 
in  matters  of  astronomy  or  theology ;  and  when  we  find 
the  soil  of  Britain  disposed  of,  not  according  to  any  scheme 
that  pretends  to  be  now  right,  but  according  to  the  ar- 
rangements of  men  long  since  dead,  who  enacted  the  per- 
petuity of  their  arrangements,  we  may  rest  satisfied  that 
the  nation  must  ere  long  turn  its  attention  to  the  revision 
of  those  arrangements,  and  inquire,  "  What  ought  to  be 
the  present  disposition  of  the  soil,  supposing  no  arrange- 
ments whatever  had  been  inherited  from  past  gener- 
ations." 

No  political  truth  requires  to  be  more  strenuously  im- 
pressed upon  the  world,  than  that  the  men  of  every  suc- 
ceeding generation  have  the  same  right  to  make  their 
own  arrangements,  unburdened  with  any  responsibilities, 
restrictions,  diversities  of  rights  and  privileges,  other 
than  those  restrictions  imposed  by  the  general  laws  of 
equity,  or  those  diversities  of  office  which  they  may 
agree  to  make  for  their  general  advantage.  Nothing  can 
be  more  absurd  than  to  suppose,  that  a  past  generation 
can  make  arrangements  to  deprive  the  present  generation 
(at  any  given  time)  of  its  full  right  to  dispose  of  the 
earth  in  the  mode  that  is  best  for  the  present  generation ; 
and  though  the  laws  of  Britain  are  utterly  contrary  to 
reason  in  this  respect,  inasmuch  as  lands  are  entailed  in 
particular  families,  to  whom  other  Britons  must  pay  a 
rent  for  the  use  of  the  soil,  we  need  not  hesitate  to  affirm, 
that  the  moment  a  scientific  method  (whether  inductive 


302        THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION. 

and  economical,  or  deductive  and  moral)  comes  to  be  ap- 
plied to  the  question,  "  Whose  is  the  soil,  and  how  should 
it  be  distributed?"  that  moment  will  the  fabric  of  Eng- 
lish aristocracy  be  undermined,  and  the  social  laws  of 
Britain  will  undergo  a  thorough  regeneration.  Super- 
stition on  this  point  may  endure  for  a  few  years  longer ; 
but  so  certainly  as  men  achieve  equality  in  the  eye  of 
the  law  with  regard  to  natural  liberty,  so  certainly  must 
they  ultimately  achieve  equality  with  regard  to  natural 
property.  And  so  certainly  as  men  reduce  to  practice  the 
propositions  of  knowledge  in  the  other  sciences,  so  cer- 
tainly will  they  ultimately  reduce  to  practice  the  propo- 
sitions of  political  science;  and  instead  of  being  the 
slaves  of  superstition,  held  in  awe  by  the  bugbears  of 
hereditary  rights,  the  authority  of  (wrong)  laws,  and  the 
impositions  of  legal  fictions,  they  will  make  reason  the 
ruler,  moral  science  the  expositor  of  reason,  and  subject 
themselves  to  the  laws  of  justice,  and  no  longer  to  the  laws 
of  men. 

If,  then,  we  admit  that  every  generation  of  men  has 
the  same  free  right  to  make  its  own  arrangements,  and 
to  carry  into  effect  the  principles  it  knows  or  believes  to 
be  true,  quite  independently  of  the  arrangements  that 
have  been  made  by  any  anterior  generations,  we  must 
also  of  necessity  admit,  that  the  earth  and  all  it  contains", 
belongs,  for  the  time  being,  to  every  existing  generation, 
and  that  the  disposition  of  the  earth  (as  the  great  store- 
house from  which  man  must  derive  his  support  and  sus-* 
tenance)  is  not  to  be  determined  by  the  laws,  customs,  ar- 
rangements, king's  gifts,  or  prescriptive  rights  of  any 
past  generation  of  men,  but  by  the  judgment  and  reason 
of  the  existing  generation,  ordering  all  arrangements  ac- 
cording to  the  rules  of  equity,  which  are  always  valid 
and  always  binding,  and  which  at  every  given  moment  of 
time  are  the  rules  which  ought  to  determine  human 
action.  Consequently  the  question  at  every  period  is, 


THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION.        303 

"What  is  the  equitable  disposition  of  the  earth  ?"  Is  it 
equitable  that  any  arrangements  of  past  generations 
should  cause  one  man  now  to  be  born  heir  to  a  county, 
or  half  a  county,  or  quarter  of  a  county,  while  the  other 
inhabitants  of  that  county  are  thereby  deprived  of  all 
right  to  the  soil,  and  must  consequently  pay  a  rent  to  the 
one  individual  who  naturally  has  not  one  particle  of  right 
to  the  earth  more  than  they  have  themselves  ?  And  if 
such  an  arrangement  be  not  now  equitable,  most  un- 
doubtedly it  ought  not  to  be  allowed  to  continue ;  and  if 
any  government  (instead  of  administrating  the  laws  of 
equity)  use  the  armed  power  of  the  nation  for  the  pur- 
pose of  enforcing  such  arrangements,  such  government 
has  departed  from  its  proper  intention,  and  is  not  entitled 
to  obedience. 

If,  then,  we  admit  that  every  generation  of  men  has 
exactly  the  same  free  right  to  the  earth,  unencumbered 
by  any  arrangements  of  past  ages,  the  great  problem  is  to 
discover  "  such  a  system  as  shall  secure  to  every  man  his 
exact  share  of  the  natural  advantages  which  the  Creator 
has  provided  for  the  race ;  while,  at  the  same  time,  he 
has  full  opportunity,  without  let  or  hindrance,  to  exercise 
his  labor,  industry,  and  skill,  for  his  own  advantage." 
Until  this  problem  is  solved,  both  in  theory  and  in  prac- 
tice, political  change  must  continually  go  on. 

The  great  practical  termination,  therefore,  towards 
which  modern  societies  are  continually  progressing,  is 
equalization  in  the  eye  of  the  law,  both  with  regard  to 
natural  liberty  and  natural  property.  And  if  we  view 
property  (natural  property — that  is,  that  which  is  not 
created  by  human  labor,  industry,  or  skill)  as  entering 
the  theory  of  morals — and  we  must  view  it  in  this  light 
when  we  view  it  by  the  aid  of  a  scientific  method — 
we  include  natural  property  in  the  theory  of  human  func- 
tion, and  posit  finally  that  the  progression  of  mankind  is 
towards  that  political  condition  in  which  the  law  shall  be 


304        THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION. 

exactly  one  and  the  same  for  all  men,  without  diversities 
of  rights  or  privileges,  and  without  diversities  of  con- 
dition other  than  diversities  of  office,  and  diversities  of 
condition  produced  by  the  more  or  less  successful  result 
of  individual  labor,  skill,  or  enterprise.  And  the  ground 
on  which  we  identify*  the  laws  of  property  and  the  laws 
of  liberty  is  this,  when  human  laws  accord  to  one  man 
a  portion  of  the  earth  as  property,  the  essential  character 
of  such  an  arrangement,  is  that  all  other  men  are  prohibited 
or  restricted  from  using  that  portion  of  the  earth ;  and 
consequently  this  law  is  merely  a  law  restricting  action, 
inasmuch  as  the  prohibition  is  specific,  whereas  there  is 
no  injunction  on  the  proprietor  to  cultivate  the  land,  or 
make  it  produce  its  maximum  for  the  increase  of  human 
welfare. 

Absolute  equalization  in  the  eye  of  the  law  with  regard 
to  natural  rights,  is  the  final  termination  of  man's  political 
progress,  the  last  term  in  that  grand  series  of  changes 
that  commenced  with  the  two  opposite  elements — the  lord 
and  the  serf;  and  which  will  terminate  with  the  one  ele- 
ment— the  freeman  without  privileges  and  without  oppres- 
sions. 

There  cannot  be  the  slightest  question  that  the  pro- 
gression of  modern-  states  is  towards  universal  suffrage; 
that  is,  towards  absolute  equalization  of  the  political  func- 
tion of  the  individuals  of  whom  the  state  is  composed. 
The  necessary  attendant  of  universal  suffrage  must  be, 
"  the  equal  eligibility  of  every  member  of  the  state  to  fill 
any  office  in  the  state." 

When  a  state  arrives  at  this  ultimatum  with  regard  to 
the  political  function  of  each  individual,  the  question  of 
natural  property  must  fall  to  be  discussed ;  and  as  no 
possible  reason  can  be  alleged  why  one  individual  should 
d,  priori  be  endowed  with  more  of  the  earth  (which  God, 

*  Identify —to  make  one ;  or  to  establish  an  identity  between  two  things  that 
appear  under  different  names  or  different  aspects. 


THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION.         305 

the  Creator  and  Father  of  mankind,  has  given  to  the 
human  race)  than  any  other  individual ;  and  as  every 
generation  of  existing  men  must  have  exactly  the  same 
title  to  a  free  earth,  unencumbered  with  any  arrangements 
of  past  generations,  we  may  rest  satisfied,  that  through 
whatever  transformations  men  may  pass,  the  ultimate 
point  at  which  they  must  necessarily  arrive,  is  absolute 
equality  with  regard  to  natural  property.  And  if  so,  the 
intention  of  Providence  will  then  be  realized,  that  the  in- 
dustrious man  shall  be  rich,  and  the  man  who  labors  not 
shall  be  poor.  Such  is  the  intention  of  nature,  and  such 
is  the  intention  of  the  Almighty  Maker  of  mankind. 

The  great  social  problem,  then,  that  cannot  fail  ere  long 
to  appear  in  the  arena  of  European  discussion  is,  "  to  dis- 
cover such  a  system  as  shall  secure  to  every  man  his 
exact  share  of  the  natural  advantages  which  the  Creator 
has  provided  for  the  race;  while,  at  the  same  time,  he  has 
full  opportunity,  without  let  or  hindrance,  to  exercise  his 
skill,  industry,  and  perseverance  for  his  own  advantage." 

Of  this  problem,  we  maintain  that  there  can  be  but  one 
general  solution  possible ;  and  the  whole  analogy  of  scien- 
tific discovery  assures  us  that,  sooner  or  later,  the  problem 
will  be  solved,  that  the  solution  will  be  acknowledged,  and 
that  it  will  be  transformed  from  an  intellectual  dogma 
into  a  practical  rule  of  action,  thereby  presenting  a  reali- 
zation, in  outward  condition,  of  those  propositions  which 
the  reason  has  seen  to  be  correct. 

The  solution  we  propound  (and  which  we  hope  to  de- 
fend more  at  large  at  some  future  period)  is  the  following, 
although,  of  course,  there  is  no  supposition  that  any  gen- 
eral solution  can  be  immediately  applicable  to  the  circum- 
stances of  this  or  any  other  country. 

[For  convenience'  sake,  we  neglect  all  speculations  as  to 
what  may  or  may  not  be  the  geographical  arrangements 
of  states  at  a  future  period.  We  shall  speak  of  England 
alone,  and  consider  the  state  of  England  as  composed  of 

20 


306        THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION. 

an  indefinite  number  of  members,  all  equal  in  the  eye  of 
the  law,  all  on  a  parity  with  regard  to  primary  political 
function,  and  all  equally  eligible  to  fill  any  office  to  which 
they  may  be  elected  by  the  suffrages  of  the  majority. 
All  authority  of  man  is  of  course  excluded,  and  the  canon 
of  right  is  the  science  of  equity — that  is,  the  rules  of 
divine  and  immutable  justice,  as  capable  of  being  appre- 
hended by  the  human  reason.] 

1st.  Reason  can  acknowledge  no  difference  of  original 
rights  between  the  individuals  of  which  the  human  race 
is  composed. 

2d.  Equality  of  rights  cannot  be  sacrificed  by  any  ar- 
rangements which  one  generation  of  men  make  for  suc- 
ceeding generations ;  but  equality  of  rights  is  perpetual, 
inasmuch  as  that  equality  derives  from  the  human  reason, 
which  varies  not  from  age  to  age. 

Even  if  it  were  true  that  there  ought  to  be  an  inequal- 
ity of  rights  among  the  individuals  of  the  human  race,  it 
would  be  absolutely  impossible  to  determine  which  indi- 
viduals of  the  race  should  be  born  to  more  rights,  and 
which  individuals  to  fewer  rights,  than  their  fellows.* 
An  inequality  of  rights  can  only  be  based  on  superstition, 

*  "  Whilst  we  maintain  the  unity  of  the  human  species,  we  at  the  same  time 
repel  the  depressing  assumption  of  superior  and  inferior  races  of  men."  ["  The 
very  cheerless,  and  in  recent  times  too  often  discussed,  doctrine  of  the  unequal 
rights  of  men  to  freedom,  and  of  slavery  as  an  institution  in  conformity  with 
nature,  is  unhappily  found  most  systematically  developed  in  Aristotle's 
Politico,  i,  3.  56."]  "There  are  nations  more  susceptible  of  cultivation,  more 
highly  civilized,  more  ennobled  by  mental  cultivation,  than  others,  but  none  in 
themselves  nobler  than  others.  All  are  in  like  degree  designed  for  freedom  a 
freedom  which,  in  the  ruder  conditions  of  society,  belongs  only  to  the  individ- 
ual, but  which,  in  social  states  enjoying  political  institutions,  appertains  as  a 
right  to  the  whole  body  of  the  community."  If  we  would  indicate  an  idea 
which,  throughout  the  whole  course  of  history,  has  ever  more  and  more  widely 
extended  its  empire,  or  which,  more  than  any  other,  testifies  to  the  much  con- 
tested, and  still  more  decidedly  misunderstood  perfectibility  of  the  whole 
human  race,  it  is  that  of  establishing  our  common  humanity— of  striving  to  re- 
move the  barriers  which  prejudice  and  limited  views  of  every  kind  have  erected 
amongst  men— and  to  teach  all  mankind,  without  reference  to  religion,  nation, 
or  color,  as  one  fraternity,  one  great  community,  fitted  for  the  attainment  of 
one  object,  the  unrestrained  development  of  the  psychical  powers.  This  is  the 


THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION.        307 

and  the  very  moment  reason  is  substituted  for  superstition 
in  political  science  (as  it  has  been  in  the  physical  science), 
that  moment  must  men  admit  that  no  possible  means  are 
known  by  which  an  inequality  of  rights  could  possibly  be 
substantiated.  Even  if  it  were  true,  for  instance,  that 
there  should  be  an  aristocracy  and  a  serfdom,  there  are  no 
possible  means  of  determining  which  individuals  should 
be  the  aristocrats,  and  which  individuals  the  serfs. 

3d.  The  state  of  England,  then,  would  present  a  soil 
(including  the  soil  proper,  the  mines,  forests,  fisheries, 
etc. ;  in  fact,  that  portion  of  the  natural  earth  called  Eng- 
land) which  was  permanent,  and  a  population  that  was 
not  permanent,  but  renewed  by  successive  generations. 

4th.  The  question  then  is,  "What  system  will  secure  to 
every  individual  of  these  successive  generations  his  portion 
of  the  natural  advantages  of  England  ?  "  Of  this  problem, 
we  maintain  that  there  is  but  one  solution  possible. 

5th.  No  truth  can  be  more  absolutely  certain  as  an  in- 
tuitive proposition  of  the  reason,  than  that  "  an  object  is 
the  property  of  its  creator ; "  and  we  maintain  that  crea- 
tion *  is  the  only  means  by  which  an  individual  right  to 
property  can  be  generated.  Consequently,  as  no  indi- 

ultimate  and  highest  aim  of  society,  identical  with  the  direction  implanted  by 
nature  in  the  mind  of  man  towards  the  indefinite  extension  of  his  existence. 
He  regards  the  earth  in  all  its  limits,  and  the  heavens  as  far  as  his  eye  can 
scan  their  bright  and  starry  depths,  as  inwardly  his  own,  given  to  him  as  the 
objects  of  his  contemplation,  and  as  a  field  for  the  development  of  his  energies. 
Even  the  child  longs  to  pass  the  hills,  or  the  seas,  which  enclose  his  manor- 
house  ;  yet,  when  his  eager  steps  have  borne  him  beyond  those  limits,  he  pines 
like  the  plant  for  his  native  soil ;  and  it  is  by  this  touching  and  beautiful  attri- 
bute of  man,  this  longing  for  that  which  is  unknown,  and  this  fond  remem- 
brance of  that  which  is  lost,  that  he  is  spared  from  an  exclusive  attachment  to 
the  present.  Thus  deeply  rooted  in  the  innermost  nature  of  man,  and  even  en- 
joined upon  him  by  his  highest  tendencies,  the  recognition  of  the  bond  of 
humanity  becomes  one  of  the  noblest  leading  principles  in  the  history  of  man- 
kind."—Humboldfs  Cosmos,  vol.  i.  p.  368  ;  Bohn's  Edition. 

*  In  the  arts,  man  creates  form  ;  in  political  economy,  he  creates  value  ;  and  in 
politics,  he  creates  property.  And  as  the  evolution  is  in  this  order — 1st,  the 
Arts  ;  2d,  Political  Economy  ;  3d,  Politics  ;  the  laws  of  political  economy  must 
be  discovered  before  there  can  be  a  system  of  property  rational  in  its  theory  and 
scientific  in  its  form. 


308          THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION. 

vidual  and  no  generation  is  the  creator  of  the  substantive, 
earth,  it  belongs  equally  to  all  the  existing  inhabitants. 
That  is,  no  individual  has  a  special  claim  to  more  than 
another. 

6th.  But  while  on  the  one  hand  we  take  into  considera- 
tion the  object — that  is,  the  earth ;  we  must  also  take 
into  consideration  the  subject — that  is,  man,  and  man's 
labor. 

7th.  The  object  is  the  common  property  of  all ;  no  in- 
dividual being  able  to  exhibit  a  title  to  any  particular 
portion  of  it.  And  individual  or  private  property  is,  the 
increased  value  produced  by  individual  labor.  Again,  in 
the  earth  must  be  distinguished  the  permanent  earth  and 
its  temporary  or  perishable  productions.  The  former — that 
is,  the  permanent  earth — we  maintain,  never  can  be  private 
property ;  .and  every  system  that  treats  it  as  such  must 
necessarily  be  unjust.  No  rational  basis  has  ever  been 
exhibited  to  the  world  on  which  private  right  to  any  par- 
ticular portion  of  the  earth  could  possibly  be  founded. 

8th.  But  though  the  permanent  earth  never  can  be 
private  property  (although  the  laws  may  call  it  so,  and 
may  treat  it  as  such),  it  must  be  possessed  by  individuals 
for  the  purpose  of  cultivation,  and  for  the  purpose  of  ex- 
tracting from  it  all  those  natural  objects  which  man 
requires. 

9th.  The  question  then  is,  upon  what  terms,  or  accord- 
ing to  what  system,  must  the  earth  be  possessed  by  the 
successive  generations  that  succeed  each  other  on  the  sur- 
face of  the  globe?  The  conditions  given  are — First,  That 
the  earth  is  the  common  property  of  the  race ;  Second, 
That  whatever  an  individual  produces  by  his  own  labor 
(whether  it  be  a  new  object,  made  out  of  many  ma- 
terials, or  a  new  value  given  by  labor  to  an  object  whose 
form,  locality,  etc.,  may  be  changed)  is  the  private  prop- 
erty of  that  individual,  and  he  may  dispose  of  it  as  he 
pleases,  provided  he  does  not  interfere  with  his  fellows. 


THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION.         309 

Third,  The  earth  is  the  perpetual  common  property  of  the 
race,  and  each  succeeding  generation  has  a  full  title  to  a 
free  earth.  One  generation  cannot  encumber  a  succeed- 
ing generation. 

And  the  condition  required  is,  such  a  system  as  shall 
secure  to  the  successive  individuals  of  the  race  their 
share  of  the  common  property,  and  the  opportunity,  with- 
out interference,  of  making  as  much  private  property  as 
their  skill,  industry,  and  enterprise  would  enable  them  to 
make. 

The  scheme  that  appears  to  present  itself  most  natu- 
rally is,  the  general  division  of  the  soil,  portioning  it  out 
to  the  inhabitants  according  to  their  number.  Such 
appears  to  be  the  only  system  that  suggests  itself  to  most 
minds,  if  we  may  judge  from  the  objections  brought 
forward  against  an  equalization  of  property.  All  these 
objections  are  against  the  actual  division  of  the  soil ;  and 
certainly  such  a  division  is  theoretically  erroneous, 
especially  when  the  fractional  parts  are  made  the 
property  of  the  possessors.  But  independently  of  this, 
the  profits  arising  from  trade,  etc.,  would  induce  many 
individuals  to  forsake  agriculture,  and  to  abandon  their 
portion  to  those  who  preferred  the  cultivation  of  the  soil 
to  any  other  pursuit.  A  purely  agricultural  population 
is  almost  impossible  at  any  period  ;  but  when  men  have 
made  considerable  advances  in  the  arts,  etc.,  a  general 
return  to  agricultural  pursuits  is  a  mere  chimera,  a 
phantom.  Men  must  go  forward,  never  backward.  To 
speak  of  a  division  of  lands  in  England  is  absurd.  Such 
a  division  would  be  as  useless  as  it  is  improbable.  But  it 
is  more  than  useless — it  is  unjust;  and  unjust,  not  to  the 
present  so-called  proprietors,  but  to  the  human  beings 
who  are  continually  being  born  into  the  world,  and  who 
have  exactly  the  same  natural  right  to  a  portion  that 
their  predecessors  have.  For  instance,  let  us  suppose  a 
hundred  thousand  acres  divided  into  a  thousand  portions, 


310         THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION. 

and  accorded  as  property  to  a  thousand  persons.  This 
appears,  at  first  sight,  to  be  an  equitable  arrangement ; 
and  if  the  persons  were  immortal,  and  begot  no  children, 
the  arrangement  might  be  unobjectionable.  But  if  the 
soil  were  made  property,  it  would  be  alienable,  and  one 
of  the  thousand  persons  might  alienate  his  hundred  acres 
to  another  proprietor,  who  would  then  come  to  have  two 
hundred  acres.  This  might  be  perfectly  equitable 
between  the  two  parties  themselves  ;  but  there  are  others 
interested  in  the  transaction,  and  their  rights  must  not 
be  overlooked.  Let  us  suppose,  that  in  a  few  years,  the 
adult  population  had  increased  to  one  thousand  and  fifty. 
The  fifty  new  men  have  exactly  the  same  right  to  a 
fractional  share  that  the  original  one  thousand  had,  mere 
priority  of  time  making  no  possible  difference  in  the 
right  of  men  to  the  natural  globe.  What,  then,  would 
require  to  be  done?  It  would  be  necessary,  either,  1st, 
to  preserve  the  original  proprietors  in  their  so-called 
properties,  thereby  depriving  the  fifty  new  men  of  all 
share  of  the  globe ;  or,  2d,  to  make  a  new  division  of  the 
whole  lands,  dividing  them  into  one  thousand  and  fifty 
portions.  This,  of  course,  would  destroy  the  proprietor- 
ship of  the  first  occupants,  and  in  the  practical  division 
of  the  lands  would  involve  the  recasting  of  the  whole 
thousand  farms  or  holdings.  Every  one  would  require 
to  shift  its  boundaries  every  time  that  an  increase  of  the 
population  rendered  a  new  division  requisite.  Such  a 
system  would  be  destructive  to  the  cultivation  of  the 
soil ;  and  though  perhaps  possible,  it  would  be  attended 
with  inconveniences  which  render  its  reduction  to  prac- 
tice out  of  the  question. 

The  actual  division  of  the  soil  need  never  be  antici- 
pated, nor  would  such  a  division  be  just,  if  the  divided 
portions  were  made  the  property  (legally,  for  they  could 
never  be  so  morally)  of  individuals. 

If,  then,  successive  generations  of  men  cannot  have 


THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION.        311 

their  fractional  share  of  the  actual  soil  (including  mines, 
etc.),  how  can  the  division  of  the  advantages  of  the 
natural  earth  be  effected? 

By  the  division  of  its  annual  value  or  rent ;  that  is,  by 
making  the  rent  of  the  soil  the  common  property  of  the 
nation.  That  is  (as  the  taxation  is  the  common  property 
of  the  state),  by  taking  the  whole  of  the  taxes  out  of  the 
rents  of  the  soil,  and  thereby  abolishing  all  other  kinds 
of  taxation  whatever.  And  thus  all  industry  would  be 
absolutely  emancipated  from  every  burden,  and  every 
man  would  reap  such  natural  reward  as  his  skill, 
industry,  or  enterprise  rendered  legitimately  his,  accord- 
ing to  the  natural  law  of  free  competition.*  This  we 
maintain  to  be  the  only  theory  that  will  satisfy  the 
requirements  of  the  problem  of  natural  property.  And 
the  question  now  is :  how  can  the  division  of  the  rent  be 
effected?  An  actual  division  of  the  rent — that  is,  the 
payment  of  so  much  money  to  each  individual — would 
be  attended  with,  perhaps,  insuperable  inconveniences ; 
neither  is  such  an  actual  division  requisite,  every  require- 
ment being  capable  of  fulfilment  without  it. 

We  now  apply  this  solution  to.  England.  England 
forms  a  state ;  that  is,  a  community  acting  through 
public  servants  for  the  administration  of  justice,  etc.  In 
the  actual  condition  of  England,  many  tilings  are  at 
present  unjust;  and  the  right  of  the  government  to  tax 
and  make  laws  for  those  who  are  excluded  from  repre- 
sentation, is  at  all  events  questionable.  However,  we 
shall  make  a  few  remarks  on  England  as  she  is,  and  on 
England  as  she  ought  to  be ;  that  is,  as  she  would  be 
were  the  rules  of  equity  reduced  to  practical  operation. 

1st.  The   state   has    alienated    the    lands    to    private 

*  We  have  no  hesitation  whatever  in  predicting,  that  all  civilized  commu- 
nities must  ultimately  abolish  all  revenue  restrictions  on  industry,  and  draw 
the  whole  taxation  from  the  rents  of  the  soil.  And  this  because  (as  we  shall 
endeavor  to  show  in  a  future  portion  of  the  subject)  the  rents  of  the  soil  are 
the  common  produce  of  the  whole  labor  of  a  community. 


312         THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION. 

individuals  called  proprietors,  and  the  vast  majority  of 
Englishmen  are  born  to  their  labor,  minus  their  share  of 
the  taxation. 

2d.  This  taxation  of  labor  has  introduced  vast  systems 
of  restriction  on  trades  and  industry.  Instead  of  a 
perfectly  free  trade  with  all  the  world,  England  has 
adopted  a  revenue  system  that  most  materially  diminishes 
both  the  amount  of  trade  and  its  profit.  And,  instead  of 
a  perfectly  free  internal  industry,  England  has  adopted 
an  excise  that  is  as  vexatious  in  its  operation  as  can  well 
be  conceived.  Both  the  customs  and  excise  laws,  and 
every  other  tax  on  industry,  have  arisen  from  the  alien- 
ation of  the  soil  from  the  state ;  and  had  the  soil  not 
been  alienated,  no  tax  whatever  would  have  been  requi- 
site ;  and  were  the  soil  resumed  (as  it  undoubtedly  ought 
to  be),  every  tax  of  every  kind  and  character,  save  the 
common  rent  of  the  soil,  might  at  once  be  abolished,  with 
the  whole  army  of  collectors,  re  venue- officers,  cruisers, 
coast-guards,  excisemen,  etc.,  etc. 

3d.  Taxation  can  only  be  on  land  or  labor.  [By  land 
we  mean  the  natural  earth,  not  merely  the  agricultural 
soil.]  These  are  the  two  radical  elements  that  can  be 
subjected  to  taxation,  capital  being  originally  derived 
from  one  or  the  other.  Capital  is  only  hoarded  laborer 
hoarded  rent ;  and  as  all  capital  must  be  derived  from 
the  one  source  or  the  other,  all  taxation  of  capital  is  only 
taxation  of  land  or  of  labor.  Consequently  all  taxation 
of  whatever  kind  is, — 1st,  taxation  of  labor,  that  is,  a 
deduction  from  the  natural  remuneration  which  God 
intended  the  laborer  to  derive  from  his  exertions ;  or 
2d,  taxation  of  land,  that  is,  the  appropriation  of  the 
current  value  of  the  natural  earth  to  the  expenses  of  the 
state. 

Now,  labor  is  essentially  private  property,  and  land 
is  not  essentially  private  property,  but  on  the  contrary  is 
the  common  inheritance  of  every  generation  of  mankind. 


THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION.         313 

Where  the  land  is  taxed,  no  man  is  taxed,  nor  does  the 
taxation  of  land  interfere  in  any  way  whatever  with  the 
progress  of  human  industry.  On  the  contrary,  the  tax- 
ation of  land,  rightly  directed,  might  be  made  to  advance 
the  condition  of  the  country  to  a  high  degree  of  pros- 
perity. 

4th.  For  the  expenses  of  a  state  there  must  be  a  reve- 
nue, and  this  revenue  must  be  derived  from  the  taxation 
of  labor,  or  from  the  rent  of  the  lands.  There  is  no 
other  alternative ;  either  the  rents  of  the  soil  must  be 
devoted  to  the  common  expenses  of  the  state,  or  the  labor 
of  individuals  must  be  interfered  with ;  and  restrictions, 
supervisions,  prohibitions,  etc.,  must  be  called  into  exist- 
ence, to  facilitate  the  collection  of  the  revenue. 

5th.  In  England  exactly  the  same  injustice  was  prac- 
tised with  regard  to  natural  property,  that  was  practised 
with  regard  to  natural  liberty ;  and  though  the  laws  and 
customs  that  took  away  the  natural  liberty  of  the  labor- 
ing serf  have  been  for  the  most  part  abolished,  the  laws 
and  customs  that  make  the  land  the  exclusive  property 
of  the  aristocracy  remain  almost  intact,  and  have  yet  to 
undergo  their  progress  of  abolition.  Let  us  first  look  at 
the  circumstances  of  the  case. 

Blackstone  *  explains  the  mechanism  by  which  the  lands 
were  allocated  ;  but  the  right  to  allocate  was  the  right  of 
the  sword,  or  right  of  the  strongest ;  and  consequently  any 
future  person  who  should  prove  strong  enough  to  over- 


*  Every  Englishman  should  diligently  peruse  the  first  few  chapters  of  the 
second  book  of  Blackstone's  Commentaries,  "  Of  the  right  of  things,"  and,  in 
addition  to  these,  an  article  in  the  Quarterly  Review  for  July,  1829,  on  the  con- 
dition of  the  English  peasantry.  From  these,  and  a  history  of  the  resumption, 
and  subsequent  alienation  of  the  Church  lands,  he  will  gather  a  tolerable  idea 
of  the  circumstances  that  have  led  to  the  present  condition  of  England.  The 
lands  of  England  have  been  disposed  of  according  to  two  laws — the  law  of  the 
strongest  and  the  law  of  the  most  cunning ;  hence  England's  pauperism  and 
England's  moral  degradation.  There  yet  remains  another  law,  and  its  reduc- 
tion to  practice  will,  one  day  or  other,  regenerate  the  social  condition  of  the 
population— the  law  of  equity. 


314         THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION. 

come  the  occupiers,  would  have  exactly  the  same  right  to 
allocate  them  to  other  individuals.  The  whole  of  the 
feudal  system  was  based  on  the  right  of  the  strongest ; 
and  if  the  unfortunate  Irish  were  strong  enough  to  recon- 
quer the  lands  of  Ireland,  they  would  have  exactly  the 
same  right  that  was  reduced  to  practice  by  the  feudal 
laws. 

The  political  history  of  landed  property  in  England,* 
appears  to  have  been  as  follows  : — 

1st.  The  lands  were  accorded  by  the  king  to  persons 
who  were  to  undertake  the  military  service  of  the  king- 
dom. 

2d.  The  performance  of  this  military  service  was  the 
condition  on  which  individuals  held  the  national  land. 

3d.  The  lands  were  at  first  held  for  life,  and  afterwards 
were  made  hereditary. 

4th.  The  military  service  was  abolished  by  the  law,  and 
a  standing  army  introduced. 

5th.  This  standing  army  was  paid  by  the  king. 

6th.  The  king,  having  abolished  the  military  services 
of  the  individuals  who  Held  the  national  land,  resorted  to 
the  taxation  of  articles  of  consumption  for  the  payment 
of  the  army. 

The  lands  of  England,  therefore,  instead  of  being  held 
on  condition  of  performing  the  military  service  of  the 
kingdom,  became  the  property  of  the  individuals  who  held 
them,  and  thus  the  State  of  England  lost  the  lands  of 
England.  And  the  military  service  of  the  kingdom, 
instead  of  being  performed  by  those  individuals  who  held 
the  national  land,  was  henceforth  (after  the  reign  of 
Charles  II.)  to  be  paid  for  by  the  general  taxation  of  the 
inhabitants  of  the  country. 

Therefore  the  present  system  of  taxation,  and  the  nat- 
ional debt,  the  interest  of  which  is  procured  by  the  for- 

*  And  with  modifications  in  our  country  too,  for  that  matter.— A.  H. 


THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION.        315 

cible  taxation  of  the  general  inhabitants  of  England,  are 
both  due  to  the  alienation  of  the  lands  from  the  State, 
inasmuch  as  the  national  debt  (incurred  for  war  expenses) 
would  have  been  a  debt  upon  the  lands,  and  not  a  debt 
upon  the  people  of  England.  If,  therefore,  the  legislature 
had  a  right  to  abolish  the  military  services  of  those  who 
held  the  national  land,  and  thereby  to  impose  on  the 
general  community  all  the  liabilities  of  the  military  serv- 
ice of  the  kingdom,  the  legislature  has  the  same  right 
to  abolish  the  general  taxation  of  the  community,  and  to 
allocate  to  those  who  hold  the  land  all  the  expenses  that 
have  been  incurred,  and  that  are  still  incurred,  for  the 
war  charges  of  the  kingdom. 

The  alienation  of  the  land  from  the  state,  and  its  con- 
version into  private  property,  was  the  first  grand  step 
that  laid  the  foundation  of  the  modern  system  of  society 
in  England, — a  system  that  presents  enormous  wealth  in 
the  hands  of  a  few  aristocrats,  who  neither  labor,  nor  even 
pay  taxes  in  proportion  to  those  who  do  labor  (land  pays 
no  legacy  duty  on  being  transmitted) ;  and  a  vast  popu- 
lation laboring  for  a  bare  subsistence,  or  reduced  some- 
times by  millions  to  the  condition  of  pauperism. 

So  long  as  this  system  is  allowed  to  continue,  it  appears 
(from  the  constitution  of  the  earth,  and  of  man's  power 
to  extract  from  it  a  maintenance)  an  absolute  impossi- 
bility that  pauperism  should  be  obliterated ;  inasmuch  as 
the  burden  of  taxation  necessarily  falls  on  labor,  and 
more  especially  as  the  value  of  labor  is  necessarily  dimin- 
ished wherever  there  is  a  soil  allocated  to  an  aristocracy.* 

The  abolition  of  the  military  tenures,  however,  did  not 


*  Political  economists  have  insisted  much  on  the  small  matters  that  affect 
the  value  of  labor.  By  far  the  most  important  is,  the  mode  in  which  the  land 
is  distributed.  Wherever  there  is  a  free  soil,  labor  maintains  its  value.  Wher- 
ever the  soil  is  in  the  hands  of  a  few  proprietors,  or  tied  up  by  entails,  labor 
necessarily  undergoes  depreciation.  In  fact,  it  is  the  disposition  of  the  land 
that  determines  the  value  of  labor.  If  men  could  get  the  land  to  labor  on,  they 
would  manufacture  only  for  a  remuneration  that  afforded  more  profit  than 


316         THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION. 

complete  the  great  evolution  by  which  the  lands  of  Eng- 
land have  been  transformed  into  the  property  of  a  few 
thousand  aristocrats.  That  evolution  consisted  of  three 
great  facts. 

1st.  The  allocation  of  the  Church  lands  to  individual 
proprietors. 

2d.  The  abolition  of  military  tenure,  and  the  substi- 
tution of  the  taxation  of  articles  of  consumption ;  in  other 
words,  of  the  taxation  of  labor. 

3d.  The  enclosure  of  the  common  lands,  whereby  vast 
numbers  of  the  peasantry  were  ruined,  deprived  of  their 
legal  rights,  which  were  quite  as  valid  as  the  entails  of 
the  aristocracy,  and,  being  separated  from  the  land,  were 
sent  to  propagate  pauperism  in  the  towns  and  villages. 
Such  were  the  great  political  events  that  terminated  in 
the  separation  of  the  people  of  England  from  the  soil  of 
England,  and  such  was  the  price  paid  for  that  personal 
freedom  and  personal  independence  which  has  been  gradu- 
alfy  evolving  from  the  time  of  the  Norman  formation  of 
the  state  of  England,  and  which  will  come  to  a  natural 
termination  the  moment  men  are  equalized  in  their  po- 
litical functions.  The  moment  the  law  becomes  impartial, 
and  recognizes  no  d,  priori  difference  between  the  indi- 
viduals of  whom  the  state  is  composed,  that  moment  has 
the  grand  evolution  of  liberty  come  to  a  conclusion,  and 
the  evolution  of  natural  property  will  then  enter  on  its 
course. 

On  the  three  events  which  have  at  last  left  the  lands  of 
England  in  the  hands  of  a  small  number  of  aristocrats, 
we  shall  make  only  one  or  two  observations. 

God  has  attached  to  the  cultivation  of  the  earth.  Where  they  cannot  get  the 
land  to  labor  on,  they  are  starved  into  working  for  a  bare  subsistence.  There 
is  only  one  reason  why  the  labor  of  England,  Ireland,  and  Scotland,  is  of  so 
little  marketable  value,  and  that  reason  is,  the  present  disposition  of  the  soil. 
Were  the  soil  disposed  of  according  to  the  laws  of  equity,  there  cannot  be  the 
least  doubt  that  the  labor  of  the  laboring  classes  would  at  once  rise  to  at  least 
double  its  present  value. 


THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION.         317 

Every  one  of  these  events  has  a  right  side  as  well  as  a 
wrong  side ;  and  unless  we  learn  to  estimate  impartially 
the  value  of  the  changes,  we  are  in  danger  of  taking  a 
distorted  view  of  the  morals  as  well  as  of  the  matter  of 
the  changes. 

1st.  It  was  right  to  abolish  the  monasteries. 

2d.  It  was  right  to  abolish  the  military  tenures. 

3d.  It  was  right  to  enclose  the  common  lands. 

And  it  was  wrong — 

1st.  To  allocate  the  Church  lands  to  individuals. 

2d.  To  allow  the  lands  to  remain  as  the  property  of 
those  who  neither  cultivated  them,  nor  were  liable  for 
the  performance  of  the  military  service  of  the  kingdom. 

3d.  To  make  such  a  disposition  of  the  common  lands  as 
disinherited  the  peasantry,  and  at  last  left  the  common 
lands  in  the  hands  of  the  aristocracy  as  property. 

So  soon  as  the  Roman  religion  was  supplanted  in  Eng- 
land, there  can  be  no  question  that  it  was  right  to  abolish 
the  monasteries ;  and  though  many  hardships  were  no 
doubt  inflicted  on  some  excellent  men  and  women  (for 
the  Church  in  England  contained  both),  the  system  had 
grown  old.  It  had  outlived  its  time,  and  the  day  of  its 
departure  had  arrived.  Man  was  to  take  a  new  expan- 
sion— to  enter  on  a  course  of  thought — to  begin  to  exer- 
cise his  reason,  and  no  longer  to  believe  on  mere  author- 
ity. And  the  removal  of  the  Papal  Church  of  England 
was  the  first  great  requirement  for  the  commencement  of 
a  course  that  must  terminate  at  last  in  absolute  liberty 
of  thought,  and  absolute  non-interference  of  the  legislature 
with  the  credence  of  any  individual.  But  the  iniquity  of 
the  mode  in  which  the  monasteries  were  suppressed  was 
in  the  fact,  that  the  lands  were  transformed  into  the  prop- 
erty of  the  aristocracy.  If  the  king  resumed  them  in  his 
official  character  of  head  of  the  state  of  England,  he  could 
not  justly  transform  them  into  his  own  private  property, 
nor  could  he  justly  transform  them  into  the  private  prop- 


318          THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION. 

erty  of  any  individual  members  of  the  state.  Such  a  trans- 
action is  utterly  beyond  the  intention  of  civil  government, 
and  its  toleration  could  not  take  place  in  a  community 
governed  by  reason.  And  when  we  take  into  considera- 
tion that  there  are  but  two  objects  of  taxation,  namely 
individual  labor  or  the  natural  earth,  the  allocation  of 
these  lands  as  private  property  was  only  tantamount  to 
the  prospective  abstraction  of  the  value  of  the  lands  from 
the  future  laborers  of  the  country.  Were  there  no  such 
thing  as  taxation,  the  gift  of  lands  would  be  comparatively 
a  matter  of  indifference  (provided  there  was  no  restriction 
whatever  on  its  sale  and  purchase) ;  but  so  long  as  taxa- 
tion on  labor  exists,  the  gift  of  lands  is  exactly  equivalent 
to  the  present  abstraction  of  the  present  annual  value  of 
those  lands  from  the  present  laborers  of  England.  And 
herein  lies  the  injustice  and  evil  of  the  king's  gift  of  the 
abbey  lands. 

Again,  the  abolition  of  military  tenures  was  right,  be- 
cause that  system  had  also  grown  old.  It  was  inefficient 
— useless  for  the  military  service  of  the  kingdom — it  did 
not  work ;  its  evil  remained  without  its  good.  But  the 
transformation  of  the  lands  into  the  property  of  the  aris- 
tocracy, and  the  establishment  of  a  system  of  taxation 
that  has  entailed  the  heaviest  debt  and  the  heaviest  taxa- 
tion in  the  world  on  the  laborers  of  England — these  were 
the  evils  that  entailed  England's  pauperism.  Had  the 
lands  of  England  been  liable  (as  most  justly  they  should 
have  been  liable)  for  their  own  defence,  there  can  be  little 
or  no  doubt  that  the  national  debt  (at  all  events,  the  600 
millions  incurred  in  attempting  to  arrest  the  progress  of 
Europe)  would  not  have  been  incurred  at  all.  Had  the 
land  been  liable,  the  aristocracy,  who  held  the  land,  would 
never  have  plunged  into  a  war,  the  principal  effects  of 
which  appear  to  have  been  the  deferring  of  the  requisite 
changes  on  the  continent  of  Europe,  and  the  infliction  of 
a  debt  on  England  which  will  ultimately  effect  the  de- 


THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION.         319 

struction  of  the  aristocracy.  The  king  never  could  justly, 
as  the  head  of  the  state,  abolish  the  liability  of  the  land 
to  defray  the  war  charges  of  the  state,  by  attaching  those 
liabilities  to  the  individual  laborers,  while  the  landholders 
were  allowed  to  carry  off  a  free  land.  This,  in  fact,  is 
the  greatest  political  change  that  has  taken  place  in  Eng- 
land,— of  infinitely  more  importance  to  the  present  gener- 
ation than  the  revolution  that  expelled  the  Stuarts.  The 
prerogatives  of  the  crown  could  not  have  failed  to  un- 
dergo changes  in  the  natural  order  of  evolution.  As 
knowledge  progressed,  the  king,  from  a  ruler,  must  have 
become  an  administrator.  But  the  legal  establishment 
of  labor  taxation,  and  the  accordance  of  the  land  as  the 
property  of  the  aristocracy,  fixed  upon '  the  country  a 
system  that  had  the  appearance  of  right,  and  that  brought 
with  it  the  impress  of  imperial  legislation  ;  while  it  origi- 
nated in  the  darkest  ignorance  or  the  most  licentious  over- 
stretch of  power,  and  could  not  fail  to  produce  ultimately 
the  most  pernicious  results.  The  tax-payers  of  England 
can  never  be  sufficiently  reminded,  that  there  need  have 
been  no  taxes  had  it  not  been  for  the  alienation  of  the 
land  from  the  state. 

The  enclosure  of  the  common  lands,  again,  was  a  proper 
measure,  inasmuch  as  the  lands  were  producing  little; 
and  every  measure  that  caused  the  lands  to  produce  more 
for  the  consumption  of  the  country  was  so  far  beneficial. 
It  would  have  been  quite  absurd  to  leave  the  common 
lands  in  pasture,  while  their  enclosure  would  produce  for 
the  service  of  the  country  a  much  larger  quantity  of 
food.  And  the  same  argument  that  took  away  the  lands 
of  the  peasantry,  would  now  take  away  the  lands  of 
those  proprietors  who  allow  their  lands  to  lie  unculti- 
vated. 

On  the  effects  of  the  enclosure  of  the  common  lands, 
we  quote  another  passage  from  the  same  article  in  the 
Quarterly  Iteview,  July  1829 : — 


320         THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION. 

"  Here,  no  doubt,  it  will  be  observed,  that  in  every  instance  an 
allotment  of  land  was,  on  the  division  of  the  waste,  assigned  to 
the  owners  of  common  rights  "  (incumbents,  rather  than  owners) ; 
"and  that  an  allotment  in  severalty,  if  properly  attended  to  and 
cultivated,  must  have  proved  much  more  valuable  to  the  cottager 
than  what  he  had  lost.  If  such  had  been  the  case,  we  readily 
admit  that  the  division  could  not  have  proved  detrimental  to  him  ; 
but,  unfortunately,  this  very  rarely  happened.  These  allotments 
were  assigned,  under  enclosure  acts,  not  to  the  occupier,  but  the 
owner  of  the  cottage.  Few  cottages  were  in  the  occupation  of 
their  owners  ;  they  generally,  indeed  we  may  say  universally, 
belonged  to  the  proprietors  of  the  neighboring  farms ;  and  the 
allotments  granted  in  lieu  of  the  extinguished  common  rights 
were  generally  added  to  the  large  farms,  and  seldom  attached  to 
the  cottages.  The  cottages  which  were  occupied  by  their  owners 
had,  of  course,  allotments  attached  to  them ;  but  these  have  by 
degrees  passed  by  sale  into  the  hands  of  some  large  proprietor  in 
the  neighborhood.  De  facto,  in  ninety-nine  cases  out  of  the  hun- 
dred, the  allotment  has  been  detached  from  the  cottage,  and 
thrown  into  the  occupation  of  some  adjoining  farmer. 

' '  That  such  a  change  should  have  been  attended  with  most 
important  consequences,  can  excite  no  surprise  in  any  reflecting 
mind.  So  far  as  it  goes,  a  complete  severance  has  been  effected 
between  the  English  peasantry  and  the  English  soil.  The  little 
farmers  and  cottiers  of  the  country  have  been  converted  into  day- 
laborers,  depending  entirely  upon  daily  earnings,  which  may,  and 
frequently  in  point  of  fact  do,  fail  them.  They  have  now  no 
land,  upon  the  produce  of  which  they  can  fall  as  a  reserve  when- 
ever the  demand  for  labor  happens  to  be  slack.  This  revolution 
is  unquestionably  the  true  cause  of  the  heavy  and  increasing 
burdens  now  pressing  upon  parishes  in  the  form  of  poor-rates. 
Independently  of  all  reasoning  founded  upon  general  principles, 
this  is  a  truth  capable  of  being  substantiated  by  a  mass  of  evi- 
dence, so  clear  and  so  well-authenticated  as  to  leave  no  room  for 
doubt.  In  almost  every  instance  the  increase  of  poor-rates  has 
kept  pace  visibly  with  the  progress  of  enclosures." 

The  passage  we  have  underlined — "  a  complete  sever- 
ance has  been  effected  between  the  English  peasantry  and 
the  English  soil " — points  out  the  great  economical  cause 
of  England's  periodical  distress ;  a  distress  which,  were  it 


THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION.       321 

not  for  the  poor-laws,  would  occasionally  manifest  itself 
(as  it  did  in  1830-31)  in  tumultuous  assemblages  and 
breaches  of  the  law.  And  assuredly  that  severance  be- 
tween the  subjective  labor  and  the  objective  soil  will  yet 
rectify  itself.  No  class  of  society  can  be  visited  with 
long-continued  evils,  without  entailing  evil  on  the  other 
classes.  And  though  the  manufactures  of  England,  tak- 
ing an  expansion  altogether  unprecedented  in  the  history 
of  the  world,  were  able  to  consume  the  redundant  popula- 
tion, the  time  must  come  when  the  rate  of  increase  will 
diminish,  when  the  population  shall  find  no  maintenance 
either  in  the  towns  or  in  the  country,  and  social  changes, 
attended  with  a  more  equitable  distribution  of  the  sources 
of  wealth,  will  result  in  spite  of  all  that  men  can  do  to 
prevent  them. 

While  the  increase  of  the  poor-rates  in  England  reached 
to  such  an  extent,  that  in  not  a  few  cases  the  half  of  the 
rental,  and  in  the  case  of  the  parish  of  Cholesbury  the 
whole  of  the  rental,  was  absorbed ;  and  while  new  legislat- 
ive enactments  were  absolutely  necessary  to  prevent  the 
ruin  of  the  landholders — it  is  singular  to  observe  how 
little  inquiry  was  made  into  the  radical  cause  of  England's 
pauperism.  Rates  and  paupers  are  correlatives,  and  the 
rates  increase  because  the  paupers  have  increased.  No 
remedial  measure  that  attempts  only  to  supply  the  wants 
of  those  who  are  paupers,  will  ever  reach  the  depths  of 
pauperism  ;  and  while  there  is  of  course  an  imperative 
necessity  to  relieve  a  famished  population,  there  is  quite 
as  great  a  necessity  to  inquire,  "  Why  does  it  happen, 
that  in  the  richest  country  in  the  world  a  large  portion  of 
the  population  should  be  reduced  to  pauperism  ?  "  Until 
the  causes  of  pauperism  are  satisfactorily  ascertained, 
and  until  the  remedy  is  applied  to  the  cause,  no  remedial 
measure  can  do  more  than  alleviate  the  evil.  Apply  the 
remedy  to  the  cause,  and  the  evil  is  eradicated.  The 
cause,  or  at  least  one  of  the  great  causes,  is  that  ex- 
21 


322         THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION. 

pressed  in  the  words  of  the  reviewer,  "  the  severance  be- 
tween the  English  peasantry  and  the  English  soil ; "  and 
until  the  peasantry  recover  that  soil,  the  inhabitants  of 
England  may  rest  satisfied  that  the  curse  of  pauperism  will 
pursue  them  ;  and  if  the  remedy  be  not  applied  in  time, 
that  the  vengeance  of  Heaven  will  be  manifested  against 
a  nation — with  so  many  privileges — that  allows  her  chil- 
dren to  be  condemned  to  want,  and  ignorance,  and  moral 
degradation. 

Although  we  have  presented  the  reader  with  this  sketch 
of  the  historical  politics  of  landed  property,  we  attach 
little  or  no  importance  to  it.  No  historical  argument  is 
ever  capable  of  deciding  a  present  question  of  equity. 
Men  must  go  forward,  never  backward.  History  may 
enlighten,  may  instruct,  may  teach  us  what  has  been,  and 
may  afford  us  the  groundwork  of  an  argument  for  antici- 
pating what  shall  be  in  future ;  but  history  will  not  sup- 
ply the  motive  for  action,  nor  can  it  ever  furnish  the  rule 
of  action.  For  these  we  must  look  to  the  present  times  : 
the  motive  must  be  a  living  one,  not  a  dead  one ;  and  the 
rule  must  be  a  rule  that  depends,  not  on  one  age  rather 
than  another;  but  a  rule  that  always  was  valid  had 
man  been  able  to  see  it,  that  is  valid  now,  and  that  will 
be  valid  when  we  shall  have  passed  away,  and  our  places 
are  supplied  by  the  generations  that  come  after  us.  In 
the  past  we  see  the  concrete  manifestations  of  man's  phe- 
nomena, we  see  the  phases  through  which  he  has  passed, 
and  we  may  learn  to  extract  or  evolve  the  law  of  the 
direction  in  which  he  is  progressing.  In  man's  actual 
history,  all  variable  as  it  is,  like  the  outward  appearances 
of  nature,  we  behold  a  stupendous  series  of  real  phenom- 
ena, in  which  men  and  nations  are  the  actors.  The 
rulers  and  the  ruled,  the  monarch,  the  aristocrat  and 
the  serf,  the  priest,  the  artist,  the  merchant,  and  the  sol- 
dier, all  play  their  respective  parts  In  man's  political 
drama.  Events  roll  on,  and  history  records  the  scenes. 


THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION.         323 

But  beneath  the  outward  variety  of  man's  historic 
representations,  can  we  not  plunge  below  the  surface  and 
seize  some  stable  element,  some  scheme,  some  law,  some 
generalized  fact,  some  plan  or  principle  on  which  the  drama 
has  been  constructed,  some  permanent  truth  that  evolves 
amid  all  the  apparent  diversity  of  images?  Can  we  not 
transform  the  real  elements  as  they  appear  into  some 
abstract  form  that  enables  us  to  state  them  in  a  rational 
equation  ?  Can  we  not  apprehend  the  essential  character 
of  the  changes,  as  well  as  their  empirical  character,  and 
derive  instruction  for  the  reason,  as  well  as  materials  for 
the  memory  and  the  understanding  ? 

No  truth  appears  to  be  more  satisfactorily  and  more 
generally  borne  out  by  the  history  of  modern  Europe, 
than  that  the  progression  of  men  in  the  matter  of  liberty 
"  is  from  a  diversity  of  privileges  towards  an  equality  of 
rights ; "  that  is,  that  the  past  progress  has  been  all  in 
this  direction  since  the  maximum  of  diversity  prevailed 
in  the  aspect  of  individual  lord  and  individual  serf.  And 
if  this  be  the  case,  it  cannot  be  an  unreasonable  conclusion, 
that  if  sufficient  time  be  allowed  for  the  evolution,  the 
progress  of  change  will  continue  to  go  on  till  some  ulti- 
mate condition  is  evolved.  And  that  ultimate  condition 
can  only  be  at  the  point  where  diversity  of  privilege  dis- 
appears, and  every  individual  in  the  state  is  legally  enti- 
tled to  identically  the  same  political  functions.  Diversities 
of  office  there  may  be,  and  there  must  be,  but  diversity 
of  rights  there  cannot  be  without  injustice. 

Such,  then,  is  the  theoretic  ultimatum  that  satisfies  the 
reason  with  regard  to  its  equity,  and  such  is  the  historic 
ultimatum  that  the  reason  infers  from  the  past  history  of 
mankind.  Such,  then,  is  the  point  towards  which  societies 
are  progressing ;  and  when  that  point  is  reached,  the 
ultimatum  of  equity  is  achieved,  and  the  present  course 
of  historical  evolution  is  complete. 

But  while  on  the  one  hand  we  cast  our  eyes  on  the  ulti- 


324         THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION. 

mate  object  to  be  obtained — on  that  which  is  theoretically 
right — it  should  never  be  forgotten  that  two  other  ques- 
tions nearer  at  hand  claim  as  urgent  an  attention, — the 
questions,  "  Where  are  we  at  present  in  the  line  of  prog- 
ress ?  "  and,  "  What  are  the  next  steps  that  require  to  be 
taken  to  lead  society  towards  its  final  destination?" 
These  are  questions  for  the  practical  statesman  and  for 
the  present  generation,  who  require  to  deliver  themselves 
from  the  evils  that  have  grown  to  a  height,  and  whose  real 
character  has  been  apprehended  by  the  nation.  On  these 
questions  we  shall  only  make  a  passing  remark. 

Diversity  of  opinion  may  arise  between  two  men  who 
are  both  apparently  in  the  right,  if  the  attention  of  the 
one  be  directed  to  what  is  theoretically  right,  and  the 
attention  of  the  other  to  what  is  practically  expedient  as 
the  next  step  which  the  present  balance  of  powers  in  the 
state  renders  possible.  At  every  period  there  are  some 
men  in  advance  of  their  age,  some  suited  to  the  practical 
requirements  of  their  age,  and  others  behind  their  age — 
the  gepidoe  or  loiterers  who  remain  in  the  rear.  The  latter 
class,  for  the  most  part,  are  composed  of  those  whose 
interests  are  implicated  in  the  present  disposition  of 
affairs,  and  who  dread  change  of  every  description,  perhaps 
from  a  vague  apprehension  that  they  may  lose  their  pres- 
ent powers,  while  the  increase  of  those  powers  is  an  event 
not  to  be  anticipated.  This  class  is  gradually  losing  its 
influence,  gradually  receding  from  the  direction  of  the 
state,  and  submitting  to  a  current  that  it  can  no  longer 
control,  but  which  it  may  to  a  certain  extent  impede. 
The  other  two  classes  are  the  real  laborers;  with  them 
lies  the  motive  of  progression,  and  the  judgment  to 
determine  in  what  particular  direction  change  ought  to 
be  effected.  For  the  loiterers,  every  change  is  bad ;  and 
the  whole  of  their  practical  function  is  to  retard,  to  con- 
trive obstacles,  to  find  impediments,  and  if  possible  to 
prevent  investigation.  But  for  the  other  two  classes,  not 


THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION.         325 

only  is  the  impulse  necessary,  but  on  them  lies  the  burden 
of  devising  new  conditions,  which  shall  be  more  beneficial 
than  the  present  conditions,  of  exploring,  pioneering,  pre- 
paring the  way,  and  finally  of  dragging  onward  the  cum- 
brous car  of  state,  held  back  as  it  is  by  those  who  inherit 
from  darker  ages  the  power  of  retardation.  Between  the 
two  first  classes,  however,  there  must  ever  be  diversity 
of  opinion,  so  long  as  the  one  class  is  bent  on  what  is 
theoretically  right,  and  the  other  on  what  it  deems  to  be 
practically  expedient.  The  first  regards  the  measures  of 
the  second  as  unsatisfactory,  as  half  measures,  as  mere  sops 
to  allay  "the  Cerebus  of  popular  discontent.  The  second, 
on  the  contrary,  regard  the  measures  of  the  first  as  imprac- 
ticable schemes,  as  theoretic  measures,  good  enough  per- 
haps in  the  abstract  (that  is,  measures  that  satisfy  the 
reason),  but  which,  from  some  peculiarity  in  present  cir- 
cumstances, are  quite  incapable  of  application.  The  one 
professedly  takes  reason  for  his  criterion,  and  rejects  every 
measure  that  falls  short  of  its  requirements;  the  other 
extends  his  view  no  further  than  to  the  single  point  that 
enables  him  to  take  one  step  in  advance.  The  one  takes 
the  unchangeable  and  imperishable  element  of  man,  the 
objective  reason,*  crowns  it  with  imperial  authority, 
and  demands  that  all  should  at  once  acknowledge  its 
supremacy.  The  other  takes  the  variable  element  of 
man — his  subjective  condition — and,  rejecting  every 
dogma  that  claims  to  be  absolute,  discourses  only  on  the 
proximate  possibility  of  improving  that  condition.  The 
one  sees  the  transparent  image  of  truth  divested  of  the 

*  Axiomatic  truth  is  subjective  when  in  spontaneous  operation,  but  it  is 
objective  when  reduced  to  language,  and  expressed  in  propositions.  This  fact 
is  altogether  overlooked  by  those  who  descant  on  the  subjectivity  of  axiomatic 
truth.  On  the  very  same  principle,  heat,  color,  sound,  etc.,  etc.,  matter,  mind, 
and  everything  else,  are  subjective  according  to  these  philosophers,  so  that 
there  really  is  nothing — in  fact,  it  is  quite  a  mistake  to  suppose  that  there  can 
be  anything — the  universe  being  only  a  great  delusion.  If  the  simplicity  of  a 
philosophical  system  be  the  criterion  of  its  perfection,  this  system  can  scarcely 
be  excelled. 


326         THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION. 

garb  of  humanity;  the  other  sees  the  outward  raiment  in 
its  frailty  and  imperfection,  and  heeds  not  to  draw  aside 
the  drapery  that  conceals  the  divinity  of  reason. 

Between  these  two  parties,  therefore,  there  is  not  so 
much  a  perpetual  warfare,  as  a  perpetual  misunderstand- 
ing. Their  point  of  view  is  different.  They  stand  on 
different  elevations,  and  have  quite  a  different  range  of 
horizon.  Granting  that  some  of  both  parties  (and  who 
can  doubt  it  ?)  have  the  honest  and  sincere  desire  to 
advance  society  in  the  right  direction,  there  is  between 
them  an  incompatibility  both  of  conviction  and  of  feeling, 
which  forbids  that  they  should  co-operate  as  laborers  in 
the  same  field,  and  for  the  same  ultimate  object.  The  one 
views  society  as  in  a  state  of  transition,  and  presses  for- 
ward towards  an  ultimatum.  The  other  views  society  as 
engaged  in  its  ordinary  labor,  believes  in  no  ultimatum, 
but  acknowledges  that  certain  changes  are  rendered 
necessary  by  a  change  of  circumstances.  The  one  views 
the  revival  of  learning  as  the  passage  out  of  Egypt,  and 
the  present  time  as  the  journeying  through  the  wilderness 
towards  the  promised  land  of  rest.  The  other  believes  in 
no  Egypt  and  no  promised  land,  but  feels  that  the  daily 
labor  must  be  done  in  the  world  of  politics  as  well  as  in 
the  world  of  matter.  The  one  stands  on  the  top  of 
Pisgah,  and  beholds  afar  off  the  Canaan  of  his  hopes,  the 
land  of  long  expectation,  and  the  land  for  which  the  past 
journeyings  of  the  race  have  been  but  the  necessary 
preparations.  The  other,  like  Lot,  beholds  the  plain  of 
Jordan  that  it  is  well  watered  everywhere,  and  journeys 
eastward  that  he  may  find  sustenance  for  his  flock.  The 
one  is  an  intellectualist,  who  believes  in  the  supremacy  of 
reason,  and  attributes  the  systematic  errors  of  society  to 
erroneous  propositions.  The  other  is  an  empiric,  who 
admits  no  absolute  criterion,  but  admits  that  the  condi- 
tions of  mankind  may  be  gradually  improved.  The  one 
fixes  his  eye  on  truth,  and  forgets  the  intermediate  dis- 


THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION.         327 

tance  that  separates  man  from  its  realization.  The  other 
fixes  his  eye  on  man  as  he  appears  at  present,  forgetting 
alike  the  history  of  his  transformations  and  the  probable 
goal  that  must  form  his  destination. 

To  a  certain  extent,  both  are  necessary — both  are  work- 
ers in  the  great  field  of  human  improvement  and  of  man's 
amelioration.  Incomprehensible  as  they  must  ever  be  to 
each  other  (till  the  last  final  item  of  change  shall  bring 
both  to  an  identity  of  purpose),  they  are  fellow-laborers 
in  the  scheme  of  human  evolution.  The  one  devises  afar 
off  the  general  scheme  of  progress;  the  other  carries  the 
proximate  measures  of  that  scheme  into  practical  opera- 
tion. The  one  is  the  hydrographer  who  constructs  the 
chart ;  the  other,  the  mariner  who  navigates  the  ship, 
ignorant  perhaps  what  may  be  its  final  destination. 

Between  the  man  of  theory  and  the  man  of  practice, 
therefore,  there  is  (at  present)  a  perpetual  though  fluctu- 
ating difference.  Seldom  is  it  given  to  man  in  this  world 
to  understand  aright  his  own  position ;  and  though  he 
may  labor,  and  labor  well,  it  is  rare  that  he  can  appreciate 
correctly  the  true  position  of  his  labors.  And  thus  in  the 
field  of  politics,  the  theorist  and  the  man  of  practice 
appear  to  misunderstand  the  bearings  of  their  respective 
occupations.  The  theorist,  too  often  trusting  to  his  indi- 
vidual perceptions,  forgets  that  propositions  which  appear 
to  him  of  absolute  certitude,  can  never  be  accepted  by  the 
world  until  they  have  received  a  far  wider  authentication 
than  any  one  man  could  possibly  bestow  upon  them. 
And  though  perchance  he  might  evolve  some  .proposi- 
tions which  should  ultimately  be  able  to  stand  their 
ground,  experience  will  prove  that  the  diffusion  of  truth 
is  no  less  necessary  than  its  discovery.  Truth,  like 
leaven,  must  pervade  the  mass  before  the  requisite  trans- 
formation is  effected.  On  the  other  hand,  the  man  of 
practice  moves,  for  the  most  part,  as  he  is  impelled  by 
the  convictions  of  the  multitude,  and  his  object  is  not  to 


328         THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION. 

theorize  but  to  design  the  requisite  changes,  and  to  carry 
them  into  execution.  The  theories  of  to-day  he  regards 
with  indifference  or  aversion;  they  are  of  no  practical 
avail ;  he  is  pressed  with  the  necessity  of  action,  and  act 
he  must  or  his  place  must  be  ceded  to  another.  But  he 
also  forgets.  He  forgets  that  the  very  measures  which  he 
now  reduces  to  practical  operation  were  the  theories  of 
the  past  generation,  and  that  he  is  only  carrying  into 
execution  the  schemes  which  the  practical  men  of  other 
times  regarded  in  the  same  light  as  he  regards  the  theories 
of  to-day ;  and  the  very  theories  (some  of  them  at  all 
events)  which  he  regards  with  aversion,  are  destined  to 
become  the  measures  of  some  future  man  of  practice,  who 
bestows  on  the  theories  of  his  day  the  same  characteristic 
abhorrence.  He  forgets  that  he  moves  in  action  because 
the  multitude  have  moved  in  mind ;  and  that  the  multi- 
tude moved  in  mind  because  they  had  imbibed  the  theories 
of  former  speculators,  and  changed  their  credence  under 
the  influence  of  conviction.  He  forgets  that  change  of 
action  comes  from  change  of  credence,  and  that  change  of 
credence  comes  from  theoretic  speculation.  He  forgets 
that  if  there  were  no  theories  there  would  be  no  change, 
and  if  no  change  no  necessity  for  him  to  execute  it. 

In  assigning,  then,  a  theoretic  ultimatum  to  man's 
political  progress,  we  posit — 

1st.  That  this  ultimatum  is  the  only  one  that  satisfies 
the  reason. 

2d.  That  its  probability  is  borne  out  by  the  history  of 
the  past  changes  that  have  taken  place  in  the  relative 
conditions  of  the  various  political  classes  of  which  society 
has  hitherto  been  composed. 

3d.  That  if  society  continue  to  progress  on  the  same 
scheme  or  plan  that  may  be  inferred  from  an  observation 
of  its  past  progress,  and  if  sufficient  time  be  allowed  for 
the  completion  of  the  evolution,  there  must  come  a  period 
when  the  equilibrium  of  equity  shall  be  restored,  and 


THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION.         329 

every  individual  in  the  state  shall  be  exactly  equal  in  his 
primary  political  function. 

4th.  That  all  diversities  of  rights  and  privileges,  being 
contrary  to  the  theoretic  reason  of  mankind,  shall  alto- 
gether disappear ;  and  the  law,  which  is  (in  its  proper 
sense)  the  expression  of  the  theoretic  reason,  shall  acknowl- 
edge no  political  difference  whatever  between  the  indi- 
viduals who  form  the  state,  except  such  diversities  of 
office  as  may  be  found  advisable  for  conducting  the  busi- 
ness of  the  body-politic.  And  this  diversity  of  office  to  be 
determined  exclusively  by  the  free  election  of  the  whole 
associated  individuals  who  form  the  state. 

5th.  That  law  derives  from  the  general  or  abstract 
reason  of  the  human  race,  and  therefore  it  can  never 
acknowledge  a  political  difference  between  the  individuals 
of  the  race  without  being  guilty  of  partiality  and  injustice. 

6th.  Absolute  equality  in  the  eye  of  the  law,  without 
the  slightest  distinction  of  individuals  or  classes,  is  there- 
fore the  ultimatum  of  political  progression  ;  and  this  ulti- 
matum is  the  only  condition  that  satisfies  the  requirements 
of  the  reason,  and  the  only  condition  that  presents  a 
rational  termination  to  those  changes  which,  according 
to  history,  have  been  gradually  taking  place  for  centuries. 


330          THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

BRIEF  OUTLINE  OF  A  HISTORICAL  SKETCH,  BEING  AN 
ATTEMPT  TO  APPREHEND  THE  SENTIMENTS  OF  THE 
HUMAN  MIND  WHICH  HAVE  RULED  SOCIETY,  AND  TO 
APPRECIATE  THE  PSYCHOLOGICAL  DEVELOPMENT  OF 
MAN  THROUGH  HIS  HISTORIC  MANIFESTATIONS. 

BUT,  while  an  equality  of  political  rights  may  be 
posited  as  a  logical  ultimatum  that  satisfies  the  reason, 
and  therefore  as  an  ultimatum  that  may  surely  be  expected 
to  evolve  in  one  nation  after  another,  as  knowledge  pro- 
gresses and  the  arrangements  of  superstition  are  broken 
down  before  the  advance  of  truth,  it  must  be  remembered 
that  the  organization  of  society  is  the  end  to  be  achieved ; 
and  the  practical  ultimatum  is  the  organization  of  society 
on  true  principles  instead  of  on  false  principles. 

To  suppose  that  theoretic  principles  are  incapable  of 
being  reduced  to  practice  because  they  are  theoretic,  is 
not  only  an  assumption  that  God  has  created  man's  reason 
in  opposition  to  the  requirements  of  his  terrestrial  condi- 
tion, but  it  is  also  a  palpable  inconsistency  utterly  un- 
tenable. All  arrangements  are  necessarily  based  on 
theoretic  principles  of  some  kind  or  other  ;  nor  can  man, 
by  any  possibility,  make  any  construction  of  society  which 
is  not  de  facto  the  actual  realization  of  a  theory.  It  is 
exactly  the  same  with  philosophy.  Every  man  might 
reject,  in  words,  the  claims  of  philosophic  theories ;  yet 
no  sooner  does  he  proceed  to  act  than  he  immediately 
gives  his  unconditional  assent  to  some  philosophical 
theory,  and  declares,  in  the  most  explicit  and  intelligible 


THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION.        331 

of  all  modes,  his  unreserved  belief  in  philosophic  propo- 
sitions which  involve  the  highest  abstractions  of  the 
reason.  Let  the  Avhole  phenomenon  of  his  action  be 
translated  into  language,  and  at  the  bottom  will  neces- 
sarily be  found  a  philosophic  theory.  Incapable  as  he  may 
be  of  reflection,  or  of  reducing  his  credence  to  its  ultimate 
form,  he  has  by  the  very  fact  of  action  pronounced  judg- 
ment on  the  great  questions  of  philosophy.  Xo  intelligent 
act  can  be  performed  without  also  involving,  as  an  abso- 
lute necessity,  a  theory ;  and  therefore  the  question  lies, 
not  between  the  acceptance  or  the  rejection  of  theories, 
but  between  the  acceptance  of  a. true  or  a  false  theory,  for 
one  must  necessarily  be  chosen. 

Every  form  of  society,  every  form  of  government,  every 
system  of  association,  every  actually  existing  form 
of  civil  polity,  is  the  realization  of  speculative  proposi- 
tions. Every  government  necessarily  has  its  theory,  of 
which  that  government  is  only  the  practical  realization. 
Every  system  established  by  man,  either  in  Church  or 
State,  has  been  only  the  outward  expression  of  an  inward 
credence,  which  credence  involved  a  theory ;  and  this 
theory  is  true  or  false. 

In  the  past  arrangements  of  society,  therefore,  it  is 
possible  to  detect  the  theories  on  which  those  arrange- 
ments have  been  based,  to  inquire  whether  they  were 
true  or  false,  and  to  trace  them  in  their  evolution  as  they 
changed  from  one  to  the  other,  under  the  influence  of  new 
circumstances  and  newly  developed  truth. 

In  Britain,  the  constitution  of  civil  society,  like  that  of 
ecclesiastical  society,  has  only  once  been  subjected  to 
systematic  arrangement;  once  only  has  the  state  been 
formed  in  such  a  manner  that  each  individual  has  had  his 
civil  position  allocated  to  him  by  law,  while,  at  the  same 
time,  he  was  directly  connected  with  the  other  individuals, 
forming  together  one  political  association. 

The  Church,  as  one  association,  presented  itself  under 


332         THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION. 

the  form  of  the  Papacy ;  the  State,  as  one  association, 
presented  itself  under  the  form  of  the  feudal  system. 
The  Papacy  was  the  complete  organization  of  the  Church 
on  false  principles ;  the  feudal  system  was  the  complete 
organization  of  the  State  on  false  principles;  and  the 
history  of  modern  society  is  the  history  of  the  gradual 
destruction  of  those  two  great  systems  —  of  the  de- 
organization  of  the  Papal  Church — of  the  de-organ- 
ization of  the  feudal  state — of  the  reduction  of  both  to 
unassociated  elements;  and  of  the  gradual  growth  of 
those  new  principles,  which  shall  ultimately  re-arrange 
those  elements  into  a  new  form,  and  present  once  more  a 
united  Church,  constructed  upon  true  principles ;  and  an 
organized  state,  or  real  political  association,  completely 
organized  on  those  principles  of  political  truth  which  took 
their  birth  in  the  Reformation  of  religion,  and  since  that 
period  have  been  undergoing  development,  becoming 
more  powerful,  more  generally  received,  and  more  and 
more  extensively  applied. 

The  political  construction  of  society  under  the  feudal 
system,  was  essentially  based  on  the  assumption  of  a 
diversity  of  orders,  or  classes,  or  castes.  In  its  origin,  the 
feudal  system  had  been  a  genuine  and  true  expression 
of  man's  requirements.  Superiority  of  position  was  ac- 
quired by  superiority  of  skill,  courage,  or  enterprise ;  and 
so  long  as  it  was  a  war  system,  and  the  lands  were  ac- 
corded to  the  warriors,  the  feudal  system  was  correct  in 
principle,  and  efficient  in  its  operation.  But  when  the 
system  had  grown,  and  had  become,  not  an  accidental 
form  produced  by  circumstances,  but  an  intentional 
form  confirmed  by  parchment  laws — when  the  settled 
warrior  became  a  hereditary  noble,  and  society  presented 
no  longer  a  genuine  war  construction,  but  a  civil  con- 
struction, which  was  the  parchment  representation  of  the 
genuine  feudalism — the  superiority  of  merit  disappeared, 
and  its  place  was  taken  by  a  superiority  of  rank.  The 


THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION.        333 

war  feudalism  was  a  spontaneous  allocation  of  offices  to 
individuals  according  to  their  capacities ;  but  the  parch- 
ment feudalism  was  the  construction  of  civil  society  on 
the  principle  of  hereditary  rank,  hereditary  jurisdiction, 
hereditary  legislation,  and  hereditary  landed  property. 
This  system  was  the  construction  of  civil  society  on  false 
principles ;  and  modern  society  is  gradually  growing  out 
of  this  form  of  construction,  to  assume  another  form  of 
organization,  based  on  the  principle  of  equality. 

Let  us  then  ask,  what  was  the  essential  form  of  society 
in  its  feudal  construction  ? 

A,  B,  C,  D,  and  E,  will  represent  individuals,  to  whom 
the  feudal  system  allocated  the  following  positions  : — 

A  is  a  king  by  right. 

B  is  a  great  landlord  by  right,  vassal  of  A  and  lord 
of  C. 

C  is  a  vassal  holding  land  from  B  by  military  service. 

D  is  a  sub-feudatory,  holding  land  from  C  for  services 
not  immediately  military. 

E  is  a  serf  belonging  to  A,  B,  C,  or  D,  without  political 
rights.  He  is  property,  not  a  person. 

Such  would  be  the  feudal  constitution  of  society.  Of 
course  the  word  right  is  employed,  in  its  customary  false 
sense,  to  indicate  what  is  received  by  law  or  custom,  not 
in  its  moral  sense. 

According  to  the  feudal  theory,  A  was  supposed  to 
derive  his  rights  from  God,  and  to  be  subject  to  God 
alone;  and  this  doctrine  was  asserted  in  France  down  to 
a  short  period  before  the  Revolution.  In  England,  it  was 
considered  to  be  abolished  by  the  Revolution  of  1688. 

B  was  subject  to  A,  and  derived  his  rights  from  A, 
whose  vassal  he  was.  These  rights,  however,  became 
hereditary,  and,  when  sanctioned  by  custom,  B  maintained 
them  as  inherent.  B's  son  was  born  a  lord. 

C  was  subject  to  B,  and  subject  also  to  A ;  so  that  B 
was  subject  to  A,  and  lord  of  C, 


334         THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGEESSION. 

D  was  subject  to  C,  and  was  proprietor  of  E. 

E  was  property  of  D.  He  was  master  of  nobody,  not 
even  of  himself.  All  that  he  had  belonged  to  his  owner. 

In  this  scheme  of  political  society,  A  legislates  for  B ; 
tries  B  in  his  great  court,  and  punishes  him  on  occasion. 
B,  however,  has  a  jurisdiction  of  his  own,  and  tries  C  in 
his  little  or  baronial  court,  and  punishes  him  on  occasion. 
C  has  a  minor  jurisdiction  over  D.  And  D.  being  pro- 
prietor of  E,  legislates  for  him,  and  punishes  him  as  he 
thinks  proper. 

Such  was  the  feudal  arrangement  of  society  with  regard 
to  political  rights.  And  this  was  the  system  effectually 
uprooted  and  destroyed  by  the  French  Revolution — the 
system  that  has  been  and  still  is  gradually  undergoing  a 
process  of  destruction  in  Britain.  Feudalism  has  not 
been  destroyed  in  Britain ;  it  has  only  been  generalized 
and  modified.  Vast  changes  have  yet  to  take  place  before 
it  finally  disappears. 

Let  us  now  turn  to  the  aspect  of  this  society,  when  the 
doctrine  of  equality  has  been  applied  to  it  so  far  as  liberty 
is  concerned. 

A  is  no  longer  a  king,  but  a  freeman. 

B  is  no  longer  a  lord,  but  a  freeman. 

C  is  no  longer  a  military  vassal,  but  a  freeman. 

D  is  no  longer  a  socman,  but  a  freeman. 

E  is  no  longer  a  serf,  but  a  freeman. 

And  these  freemen,  being  equal  in  rights,  proceed  to 
form  a  state,  and  elect  a  government  for  the  regulation  of 
the  whole. 

In  the  former  case  we  have  the  rule  of  superstition  and 
prescription ;  in  the  latter  the  rule  of  reason  and  equal 
justice  to  all.  In  the  former  case  we  have  privileges  ac- 
corded to  a  few,  at  the  expense  of  the  rights  (the  moral 
rights)  of  the  many ;  in  the  latter  case  we  have  no  priv- 
ileges, no  hereditary  distinctions,  and  no  diversity  of 
conditions,  except  those  of  office,  or  those  produced  by 


THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION.         335 

the  more  or  less  successful  result  of  industry,  skill,  or 
enterprise.  In  the  former  case  we  have  a  system  that 
contains  within  itself  the  destruction  of  justice ;  in  the 
latter  a  system  that  contains  within  itself  the  construction 
of  a  jural  society.  In  the  former  case  we  have  a  system 
that  contains  necessarily — 

1.  A  cause  of  war  of  B  against  A  (the  barons  bridle  the 
king). 

2.  A  cause  of  war  of  C  against  B. 

3.  A  cause  of  war  of  D  against  C. 

4.  A  cause  of  war  of  E  against  A,  B,  C,  and  D,  because 
A,  B,  C,  and  D  had  deprived  him  of  his  rights  as  a  man — 
as  a  moral  being  accountable  to  God. 

In  the  latter  case  we  have  the  obliteration  of  all  just 
cause- of  war.  Where  none  has  a  legal  right  which  is  not 
accorded  to  another  in  the  scheme  of  the  state,  the  cause 
of  internal  strife  is  obliterated  ;  and  though  governments 
go  to  war  on  very  insufficient  pretexts,  populations  seldom 
or  never  do  so  without  a  just  cause.  The  obliteration  of 
the  cause,  therefore,  may  fairly  be  expected  to  obliterate 
the  fact. 

The  feudal  system,  with  all  its  modifications  past  and 
present,  however  mild  or  constitutional,  is  nothing  more 
than  systematized  slavery.  At  the  bottom  of  society 
there  must  always  be  found  the  great  masses  in  a  worse 
condition  than  nature  intended.  And  wherever  the 
feudal  system  exists,  or  any  remnant  of  it,  that  system, 
or  its  remnant,  creates  a  cause  of  war  among  the  classes 
of  society ;  which  cause  of  war  creates  perpetual  uneasi- 
ness, frequent  agitations,  and  occasional  revolutions. 

It  must  be  observed  that  the  feudal  system  had  no  place 
for  the  trader.  The  trader  is  a  non-feudal  element  in 
society,  and  belongs  to  a  different  system  of  organization. 
His  day  is  fast  approaching,  and  he  will  ultimately  push 
out  hereditary  feudalism  from  the  direction  of  the  state. 
He  began  without  a  place,  without  a  rank,  and  almost 


33(5        THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION. 

without  ordinary  protection.  As  a  Jew  he  was  per- 
secuted and  cruelly  wronged,  barbarously  treated  because 
he  had  no  brute  force  to  repel  aggression.*  As  a  foreigner 
he  was  taxed  and  tolerated,  and  as  a  native  he  was  a 
base  trader  engaged  in  ignoble  pursuits. 

The  feudal  system  was  organization  on  false  principles, 
but  it  was  organization ;  and  so  long  as  the  organization 
was  genuine  and  spontaneous,  the  feudal  system  was  the 
true  and  living  expression  of  man's  necessities.  The 
leader  was  a  leader,  a  lion-heart  who  could  dare  and  do. 
He  led  because  he  could  lead,  and  was  followed  from  in- 
stinct, which  knows  its  leader  and  follows  him.  But  when 
the  feudal  system  was  transplanted  from  the  field  to  the 
court, — when  the  pen  of  the  lawyer  supplanted  the  sword 
of  the  knight,  and  the  banner  of  parchment  was  more 
powerful  than  the  pennon, — the  life  of  feudalism  was 
gone,  and  a  clattering  skeleton  remained  with  its  dead 
formalities.  War  feudalism  was  a  good,  and  genuine, 
and  true  man;  but  parchment  feudalism  was  a  mock 


*  "  Another  considerable  article  of  the  crown  revenue  was  the  profits  arising 
from  the  Jews.  Our  histories  are  everywhere  full  of  the  great  and  extraordinary 
taxes  and  impositions  laid  on  them  ;  they  were  a  constant  fund  for  a  necessi- 
tous court.  Mr.  Maddox  has  produced  a  multitude  of  the  Exchequer  records 
to  evince  this  truth  ;  but  as  he  has  not  given  any  reason  for  the  exercise  of 
this  arbitrary  power,  but  only  taken  notice  of  the  fact  that  they  were  so  taxed  ; 
and  as  this  conduct  of  our  ancient  kings  seems  to  have  perplexed  Lord  Coke  in 
some  parts  of  his  works, — we  shall  beg  leave  to  inquire  into  the  grounds  and 
reason  of  this  behavior  ;  because  such  arbitrary  and  extraordinary  methods 
are  contrary  to  the  analogy  of  our  constitution  in  other  respects. 

"  Some  think  our  kings  had  a  right  to  use  the  Jews  in  what  manner  they 
pleased,  and  that  their  fortunes  and  estate  were  absolutely  at  the  king's  dis- 
posal, and  this  by  a  grant  from  the  legislature.  For  it  appears  by  the  twenty- 
ninth  law  of  the  Confessor,  that  the  Jews  were  the  absolute  property  of  the 
king.  The  words  are,  Judcei  et  omnia  sua  sunt  regis  ;  quod  si  quispiam  detin- 
uerit  eos,  velpecuniam  eorum,  perquirat  rex  si  milt,  tanquan  suum  proprium  : 
and  the  reader  may  see  this  law  enforced  among  the  ordinances  of  Henry  II. 
and  Richard  I.,  concerning  the  Jews.  He  may  likewise  find  a  very  memorable 
record  in  the  first  volume  of  Rymer's  Collections,  where  Henry  III.  mortgages 
for  £5000  to  his  brother,  the  Earl  of  Cornwall,  omnis  Judceos  regni  Angliae, 
with  a  power  of  distraining  the  bodies  of  all  or  any  of  them,  if  the  money  was 
not  paid  at  the  times  prefixed."— History  of  Taxes  from  William  the  Conqueror 
to  A.  D.  1701. 


THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION.         337 

man — the  one  was  the  organization  of  force — the  other  the 
law-copy  of  that  organization,  and  the  attempt  to  fix  in 
perpetuity  the  form  without  the  elements.  In  the  one, 
power  was  the  essential,  and  form  the  accidental ;  in  the 
other,  form  was  the  essential,  and  power  the  accidental. 
The  one  had  a  leader  who  did  govern  ;  the  other,  a  king  who 
was  supposed  to  govern.  The  one  had  an  aristocracy  of 
talent ;  the  other  an  aristocracy  of  sheepskin.  The  one 
gave  lands  because  he  first  conquered  them;  the  other 
gave  lands  because  they  fell  into  his  hands.  The  one 
gave  lands  to  men  of  the  sword  who  could  defend  them ; 
the  other  to  fools  and  favorites.  The  one  was  a  real 
lions  who  showed  himself ;  the  other  was  a  stuffed  lion 
with  a  fox  for  a  showman. 

Every  human  system  grows,  expands,  arrives  at  matu- 
rity, decays,  and  dies.  The  system  dies,  but  man  does 
not  die.  Man  goes  on  to  new  systems,  which  grow,  expand, 
and  die  also ;  and  again  to  new  systems,  which  also  die. 
But  beneath  the  surface  of  the  human  systems  there  is  a 
reality  which  does  not  die — a  reality  which  evolves.  One 
system  teaches  one  truth,  and  another  system  another 
truth,  and  the  truth  remains  when  the  system  has  disap- 
peared. All  attempts  to  fix  systems  in  perpetuity  are  un- 
natural. The  vital  element  is  fled,  and  the  body  must 
perish,  or  if  preserved  is  a  mummy.  And  all  systems 
preserved  by  law  beyond  their  natural  existence  are 
mummy  systems.  And  it  would  be  no  less  absurd  to 
allocate  a  maintenance  to  a  mummy  than  to  a  system. 
If  the  man  is  alive,  he  must  support  himself, — if  dead,  he 
needs  no  maintenance.  And  if  the  system  is  alive,  it  will 
make  its  maintenance  because  men  require  it ;  and  if  men 
require  it  not,  it  is  a  mummy  system,  and  should  have  no 
maintenance. 

All  human  systems,  intentionally  established,  or  reduced 
to  legal  institutions,  originate  in  the  credences  of  man  ; 
and  so  long  as  the  credences  last,  the  systems  are  natural, 
22 


338         THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION. 

and  do  not  decay.  But  when  the  credence  advances,  the 
system  is  no  longer  the  expression  of  man's  requirements ; 
and  the  system  if  preserved  can  do  evil,  and  only  evil. 
With  the  advance  of  credence  the  system  ought  to  ad- 
vance also  ;  for  man  in  perpetuating  systems  perpetuates 
only  the  expression  of  his  former  ignorance.  The  feudal 
system  was  the  organization  of  power,  because  man  be- 
lieved war  to  be  the  noblest  occupation.  It  was  power 
organized  ;  and  if  it  had  been  true  that  war  was  man's  real 
occupation,  the  feudal  system  was  the  true  system  of 
organization.  But  another  element  than  force  began  to 
divide  men's  credence — law.  And  the  form  of  the  feudal 
system  was  transformed  from  the  right  of  the  sword  to 
the  right  of  the  sheepskin.  The  sword  was  bad,  but  the 
system  was  efficient  so  long  as  it  was  spontaneous.  The 
sheepskin  was  an  improvement  on  the  sword ;  and  had 
the  system  of  the  sheepskin  gone  back  to  the  genuine 
origin  of  the  system  of  the  sword,  it  would  have  resulted 
in  the  same  efficiency  that  characterized  the  power  of 
feudalism.  The  sword  has  a  right  use  and  a  wrong  use 
— it  may  be  in  the  hand  of  justice,  or  it  may  be  in  the 
hand  of  will.  And  the  sheepskin  also  has  a  right  use  and 
a  wrong  use — it  may  be  the  expression  of  justice,  or  it 
may  be  the  expression  of  will.  The  sword  is  force,  the 
sheepskin  is  law  ;  and  when  men  advance  from  the  organ- 
ization of  force  to  the  organization  of  law,  the  parch- 
ment supersedes  the  sword,  and  injustice  may  be  done 
by  the  one  exactly  as  it  was  done  by  the  other.  It  is  a 
higher  and  more  systematic  kind  of  injustice,  and  so  far 
it  is  a  progress,  as  fine  and  imprisonment  is  an  advance, 
upon  the  torture-wheel.  The  feudal  system  grew  spon- 
taneously, and  the  elements  of  its  power  were  in  the  form 
of  its  spontaneous  construction.  But  the  form  of  its 
construction  was  not  preserved,  and  feudalism  decayed 
from  the  very  attempt  to  perpetuate  it. 
Feudalism  became  hereditary ;  but  neither  courage  nor 


THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION.         339 

skill  are  hereditary,  and  hereditary  warriors  are  mum- 
mies. The  hereditary  system  transformed  the  whole 
genius  of  feudal  society,  and  the  feudal  system  as  a  war 
organization  had  lost  its  power.  The  principle  of  feudal- 
ism as  a  war  system,  was  to  allocate  the  lands  to  him  who 
was  the  warrior — the  principle  of  feudalism  as  a  parch- 
ment system,  was  to  consider  him  warrior  who  held  the 
lands.*  And  when  the  force  organization  of  society  gave 
way  to  the  law  organization  of  society,  the  hereditary 
principle  was  transplanted  into  the  legislature,  and  men 
became  hereditary  legislators.  But  wisdom  is  no  more 
hereditary  than  courage  and  skill ;  and  the  hereditary 
system  of  legislation — the  parchment  feudalism — became 
as  inefficient  as  the  hereditary  system  of  defence — the  pen- 
non feudalism.  A  new  element  was  required,  and  a  new 
element  appeared,  to  dispute  the  claims  of  hereditary 
force  or  hereditary  law. 

The  pennon  feudalism  had  a  pursuit — war;  and  the 
parchment  feudalism  had  a  pursuit — pleasure.  First, 
Mars,  then  Bacchus  and  Venus,  has  been  the  course  of 
semi-barbarous  man  in  all  ages.  But  neither  war  nor 
pleasure  will  satisfy  mankind;  and  man  must  progress 
beyond  his  mere  animal  desires.  A  ne\v  pursuit  began  to 
grow  amid  the  wars  and  pleasures  of  feudalism — trade. 
This  new  pursuit  was  a  new  advance  of  society,  and  it  in- 
troduced a  new  element  in  the  shape  of  wealth.  It  was 
not  merely  trade,  but  trade  beginning  to  be  organized  and 
systematized.  Trade,  like  war  or  pleasure,  had  always 
formed  part  of  the  occupation  of  mankind.  But  feudal- 

*  "The  companion  requires  from  the  liberality  of  his  chief  the  warlike  steed, 
the  bloody  and  conquering  sjfear,  and  in  place  of  pay  he  expects  to  be  supplied 
with  a  table,  homely  indeed  but  plentiful.'' 

Xote  by  M.  Brotier — "  From  hence,  Montesquieu  (Esprit  des  Lois,  xxx.  3)  justly 
derives  the  origin  of  vassalage.  At  first  the  prince  gives  to  his  nobles  arms 
and  provisions ;  as  avarice  advanced,  money ;  and  then  lands  were  required, 
which  from  benefices  became  at  length  hereditary  possessions,  and  were  called 
fiefs.  Hence  the  establishment  of  the  feudal  system."— Aiken's  Tacitus, 
Manners  of  Germans. 


340         THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION. 

ism,  not  content  with  organizing  an  army,  had  organized 
civil  society  on  the  war  principle ;  and  parchment  feudal- 
ism organized  society  on  the  principle  that  the  aristocrats 
were  for  pleasure,  and  the  rest  of  the  people  for  labor  to 
supply  their  pleasures.  "  Priests  are  set  apart  for  prayer, 
but  it  is  fit  that  noble  chevaliers  should  enjoy  all  ease  and 
taste  all  pleasures ;  while  the  laborer  toils  in  order  that 
they  may  be  nourished  in  abundance — they  and  their 
horses  and  their  dogs."  Trade,  however,  crept  in ;  and 
society  began  to  admit  a  portion  of  the  trade  principle. 
And  this,  like  everything  else,  began  on  false  grounds ; 
with  privileges,  charters,  restrictions,  exemptions,  local 
boundaries,  and  a  hundred  other  interruptions  to  the  laws 
of  nature.  Trade,  however,  asserted  its  claims,  and  ad- 
vanced a  new  element  into  the  constitution  of  government. 
The  burgesses  were  tolerated,  because  they  had  money 
and  could  pay  taxes;  and  gradually  the  traders  have 
pushed  their  way  against  the  parchment  lords,  as  the 
parchment  lords  pushed  theirs  against  the  pennon  lords. 
The  Commons  are  partly  knights  who  represent  proprie- 
tors of  land,  and  partly  "  citizens  and  burgesses,  chosen 
by  the  mercantile  or  supposed  trading  interest  of  the 
nation."  And  though  the  Commons  have  never  in  reality 
represented  the  people  of  Britain,  but  at  the  most  the 
wealthier  traders,  the  direction  of  society  may  be  inferred 
from  the  relative  position  of  the  Commons  now,  and  the 
Commons  two  or  three  centuries  ago.  Henry  VIII.  was 
a  parchment  king  whose  will  was  law.  The  war  lords 
had  fought  themselves  out  in  the  wars  of  the  Roses,  and 
as  war  lords  appeared  no  more.  The  Commons  were  a, 
few  cringing  burgesses,  without  power.  The  king  was 
the  State,  and,  to  all  intents  and  purposes,  the 
only  real  power  in  the  State.  He  did  what  it  has 
been  the  lot  of  few  to  do— he  changed  the  religion 
of  the  nation  and  confiscated  the  lands  of  the 
church,  and,  in  so  doing,  laid  the  foundation  of  the 


THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION.        341 

parchment  power  of  the  lords.  A  few  reigns,  and 
the  Commonwealth  passed  over  ;  and  the  lords  had  found 
that  law  and  not  the  sword  was  the  genuine  source  of 
power.  The  lords  were  now  the  state,  and  admitted 
William  of  Orange  to  be  the  organ  of  aristocratic  domina- 
tion. This  scheme  has  extended  down  to  the  present 
day ;  but  another  change  has  been  going  on,  showing 
plainly  that  the  power  of  the  lords  is  no  more  permanent 
than  the  power  of  the  king.  The  Commons  have  taken 
up  the  power.  It  is  now  customarily  admitted  that  the 
government  cannot  function  without  a  majority  of  the 
Commons — in  fact,  that  the  king  reigns  but  does  not 
govern,  and  that  a  majority  in  the  Commons  is  the  neces- 
sary element  for  carrying  on  the  operations  of  the  state. 
The  lords  have  retired  in  solemn  decency,  and  the  knights 
and  burgesses  direct  the  affairs  of  Britain. 

To  suppose,  however,  that  this  change  is  ultimate, 
would  be  contrary  to  all  the  teaching  of  history.  Parch- 
ment lordship  is  contrary  to  the  credence  of  modern  times. 
Men  are  beginning  to  believe  that  he  who  does  not  work 
ought  not  to  be  supported,  as  those  who  do  work  support 
the  whole.  The  war  lord  worked,  and  worked  hard.  He 
fought,  or  was  ready  to  fight,  and  his  life  was  at  stake  for 
his  wages.  He  deserved  his  reward.  He  was  a  man  who 
led  men ;  and  so  long  as  he  was  a  real  war  lord,  and  war 
was  the  real  pursuit,  he  was  a  genuine  man,  and  filled  an 
office  for  which  men  were  willing  to  accord  him  wages. 
When  he  became  a  parchment  lord,  he  still  worked.  He 
made  laws  and  ruled  the  country.  He  was  to  a  certain 
extent  necessary,  like  the  bishop,  who  once  worked  also, 
and  ruled  the  church.  And  in  former  days,  the  rule  of 
the  Church  was  no  more  a  jest  than  the  rule  of  the  State. 
It  was  a  real  office — a  thing  not  of  silks  and  drawing- 
rooms  ;  but  of  the  translation  of  the  Word  of  God,  and 
appearance  at  the  martyr's  stake  when  requisite.  The 
bishop  was  a  pastor,  a  real  genuine  pastor,  who  had  a 


342         THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION. 

flock  and  cared  for  it ;  and  even  now,  if  it  were  possible  to 
reanimate  the  btehop,  and  make  him  again  a  leader,  a 
genuine  leader  of  men,  there  is  no  man  in  the  country  who 
could  count  followers  with  him.  But  both  have  outlived 
their  time.  The  Commons  are  said  to  rule,  and  the 
bishop's  voice  is  heard  only  in  the  minor  wranglings  of 
sectarianism.  True,  there  are  good  and  pious  bishops  and 
archbishops,  and  their  writings  as  cultivated  men  and 
ministers  are  excellent.  But  as  bishops  they  are  almost 
unknown.*  The  office  is  no  longer  requisite.  And  the 
parchment  lord  is  also  antiquated,  because  he  does  not 
work.  There  is  no  work  for  parchment  lords,  no  demand 
in  the  market,  nothing  for  them  to  do.  Formerly,  if  there 
had  been  no  lords,  they  would  have  been  originated. 
Society  required  them,  and  would  pay  for  them  ;  and,  if 
there  had  been  none,  society  would  have  made  them,  and 
did  make  them.  There  was  an  office  which  men  required 
to  fill ;  an  office  that  had  its  labors,  its  responsibilities,  its 
dangers,  and  consequently  its  rewards.  But  if  lords  no 
longer  lead  and  no  longer  govern  in  reality ;  or  if  they 
govern  not  as  lords,  but  as  wealthy  members  of  the  State, 
influencing  the  election  of  the  Commons  who  do  govern 
— their  office  is  gone ;  like  the  war  lords,  who  were  use- 

*  For  an  account  of  the  revenues  of  the  Church  of  England,  incomes  of  the 
bishoprics,  etc.— See  Wade's  "Unreformed  Abuses  in  Church  and  State." 
Some  Curious  facts  are  there  stated  regarding  the  expense  at  which  England1 
supports  her  ecclesiastical  ministrations.  It  seems  that  there  are  32  cathedral 
and  collegiate  churches  in  England  and  Wales,  with  201  members  (deans, 
canons,  prebendaries,  etc.),  and  a  revenue  of  £184,123  per  annum.  For  this 
sum  a  week-day  service  is  maintained  (in  addition  to  the  Sabbath  services), 
and  the  congregations  are  stated  to  amount  to  nearly  the  same  number  as  the 
officials.  Thus  : — 

Cathedrals.  Officials  Present  Congregations. 

Durham,  1  32  18 

Peterborough,  1  12  7 

Wells,  1  19  22 

Carlisle,  1  17  9 

Rochester,         1  22  1! 

Oxford,  (!)         1     .  15  18 

Lincoln.  1  24  8 

141  Persons  96 


THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION.       343 

less  when  made  hereditary,  and  settled  on  their  estates. 
The  war  lords  disappeared,  and  an  enlisted  army  of  real 
soldiers  took  their  place.  Men  who  were  not  born  sol- 
diers by  caste,  but  who  became  soldiers  by  profession, 
have  been  universally  substituted  for  the  feudal  soldiers. 
The  feudal  soldiers  were  inefficient ;  their  office  was  taken 
up  by  men  who  could  do  their  duty  better,  and  against 
whom  the  feudal  soldiers  did  not  dare  to  appear.  And  so 
with  the  parchment  lords.  Their  office  was  to  make  laws, 
to  govern  the  country,  to  rule  the  State.  And  if  they  no 
longer  ruled  the  State,  but  have  disappeared  from  the  work 
before  the  enlisted  legislators  who  were  not  born  legis- 
lators, but  became  so,  their  office  has  vanished ;  and,  if 
history  tell  true  tales  of  the  past,  we  may  rest  assured 
that  time  will  ultimately  accord  the  office  to  those  who 
do  the  work  in  reality.  Pleasure  lords  are  too  contrary  to 
the  spirit  of  labor  which  an  age  of  trade  requires,  to  be 
allowed  long  to  occupy  the  first  position.  The  work  of 
paj'chment  aristocracies  is  gone  from  their  hands,  and 
Commons  govern  ;  and  though  titles  are  harmless  in  the 
present  day  compared  to  what  they  were  once,  there  is 
maintenance  in  luxury  without  labor,  which,  in  an  age  of 
trade,  is  certain  at  last  to  reduce  the  question  to  a  calcu- 
lation of  profit  and  loss,  measured  by  money,  and 
to  make  trading  rulers  act  on  the  result  of  the  balance- 
sheet. 

In   estimating,  however,  the  historic  probabilities   of 
Britain,  various  considerations  must  be  taken  into  account. 

The  seven  bishoprics  bearing  the  above  names,  had  the  following  incomes 
in  1843  :— 

Durham £22,416 

Peterborough 4,060 

Bath  and  Wells 4,567 

Carlisle 2,476 

Rochester 1,102 

Oxford 2,506 

Lincoln.                                                                                    .  5,610 


Total £42,737 


344         THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION. 

It  seems  quite  certain  that  the  pleasure  lords  cannot  con- 
tinue to  occupy  the  first  position,  merely  because  they 
have  a  sheepskin  with  a  few  black  marks  upon  it.  But 
who  is  to  take  their  place?  The  trading  community  are 
fast,  very  fast,  pushing  out  the  parchment  holders. 
Land  tenures  are  undergoing  alterations.  Old  families 
are  failing,  not  trom  the  want  of  parchments,  but  from 
the  want  of  wealth.  Merchants  are  now  the  notables,  the 
men  of  note  who  express  the  requirements  of  the  country. 
But  the  pursuit  of  money  is  no  more  the  ultimate  pursuit 
of  man  than  the  pursuit  of  war  or  pleasure.  The  trader, 
in  his  turn,  must  cede  the  first  place  to  those  who  express 
man's  higher  requirements.  Money  is  a  means,  not  an 
end;  and  when  those  who  represent  the  means  have 
played  their  part,  those  who  represent  something  beyond 
the  means  will  assert  their  claims,  and  push  the  trader 
from  the  direction  of  the  State.  Man  is  a  rational  and  a 
moral  being,  arid  his  rational  and  moral  nature  must 
ultimately  prevail  to  determine  the  arrangements  of 
society. 

Let  us  then  look  at  the  principles  that  have  determined 
the  past  construction  of  British  society.  What  have  been 
the  occupations  of  the  governing  class  ?  What  in  fact  has 
been,  in  the  estimation  of  society,  the  highest  pursuit  of 
the  civil  and  secular  man  ? 

1st.  WAR.  Society  was  constructed  on  the  war  princi- 
ple. War  manifested  itself  first  in  the  form  of  barbarous 
war ;  second,  knightly  war ;  and  third,  national  war ;  and 
then  the  war  construction  of  society  was  finished.  The 
war  was  then  performed,  not  by  the  rulers  in  person,  but 
by  a  service;  that  is,  by  men  who  fought  because  they,, 
were  paid  for  it.  The  army  was  not  the  State,  but  the 
servant. 

2d.  PLEASURE.  As  one  system  arrives  at  its  height 
and  begins,  although  imperceptibly,  to  decay,  another  sys- 
tem which  is  destined  to  supersede  it  already  has  begun 


THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION.         345 

to  take  root,  and  to  grow  up  under  the  shelter  of  the  old 
system.  The  war  system  gave  birth  to  the  political  sys- 
tem, and  the  war  leader  was  the  origin  of  the  political 
ruler.  National  war  gave  birth  to  the  national  court,  and 
the  national  court  gave  birth  to  courtly  pleasures,  and  the 
knights  who  had  been  field  knights  gradually  became  trans- 
formed into  court  knights.  As  the  war  system  decayed, 
the  court  knights  superseded  the  war  knights,  the  accom- 
plishments of  the  court  were  held  in  higher  estimation 
than  the  accomplishments  of  the  field,  till  at  last  the  fop 
was  the  genuine  ruler,  and  society  was  constructed  on  the 
pleasure  principle.  Barbarous  pleasures  grew  first,  then 
refined  pleasures,  till  at  last  the  very  corruption  of  man- 
ners necessitated  a  change. 

3d.  POLICY.  Out  of  the  courtly  pleasures  grew  courtly 
policies.  The  ambition  was  now,  not  to  be  a  warrior  nor 
a  mere  court  gallant,  but  a  statesman.  An  age  of  policy 
occurred,  in  which  the  destinies  of  nations,  and  the  wel- 
fare of  whole  populations,  were  sacrificed  to  the  crotchets 
of  statesmen  who  made  great  experiments  for  their  amuse- 
ment. The  population  who  did  the  work  and  got  the 
food  out  of  the  earth,  had  first  been  sacrificed  for  the  war 
rulers,  then  for  the  pleasure  rulers,  and  now  they  were 
sacrificed  for  the  policy  rulers.  The  balance  of  power  was 
one  of  their  crochets,  the  integrity  of  the  empire  another, 
the  balance  of  trade  another,  and  the  protection  of  trade 
and  agriculture  another.  To  these  gentlemen  Britain 
owes  the  American  war,  the  French  war,  the  national 
debt,  the  corn-laws,  the  customs,  excise  (in  their  present 
extent  of  evil),  and  a  great  many  other  things  riot  less 
destructive  to  the  laboring  community  than  was  the  reign 
of  war  or  pleasure.  War  killed  a  man,  and  to  a  genu- 
ine man  there  is  pleasure  in  war — in  fighting,  contend- 
ing, striving,  and  battling,  although  at  the  last  he  is 
killed.  It  was  a  rude  and  fierce  pleasure,  and  very 
destructive  to  society ;  but  still  a  man  had  a  chance  of 


346        THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION. 

fighting,  and  that  was  something.  But  policy  kills  a 
man  without  even  the  chance  of  a  fight,  taxes  him  to 
expatriation,  hunger-fevers  him  to  death  with  thoughts 
of  murder  in  his  head,  and  intentions  of  murder  in  his 
heart  if  he  recovers.  The  reign  of  policy  was,  and  is,  no 
less  destructive  to  society  than  the  reign  of  war,  and  it 
also  must  pass  away,  and  is  passing  away  fast.  The 
policy  statesman  is  making  way  for  the  trader;  and  the 
trader,  who  also  is  only  a  step  in  advance,  and  not  a 
finality,  is  already  sheltering  the  man  who  will  super- 
sede him,  the  political  economist.  The  trader's  day 
is  now,  and  every  day  will  see  the  policy  and  pleasure 
laws  clearing  away,  because  they  interfere  with  trade. 
Trade  is  now  the  genuine  pursuit  of  Britain,  as  war  was 
once ;  and  as  the  feudal  laws  grew  and  decayed,  and  have 
been  undergoing  a  process  of  abolition,  which  will  not 
stop  till  every  vestige  of  them  is  utterly  obliterated  both 
from  the  statute-book  and  from  the  institutions  of  British 
society,  the  trading  laws,  which  are  at  this  moment 
pauperizing  the  population,  must  give  way  one  after 
another  till  men  discover  that  God  has  constituted  nature 
aright,  and  that  the  only  protection  trade  requires  is  pro- 
tection from  violence,  and  fraud,  and  State  interference. 

In  endeavoring  to  fix  the  periods  of  war,  pleasure  and 
policy,  of  course  no  exact  boundaries  can  be  assigned.  The 
one  system  grew  out  of  the  other,  and  one  was  develop- 
ing while  the  other  was  decaying.  At  the  same  time,  it 
is  easy  to  point  out  the  period  when  each  system  was  in 
operation,  just  as  it  is  easy  to  perceive  the  colors  in  the 
rainbow,  although  we  cannot  exactly  determine  where  the 
one  color  ends  and  the  other  begins. 

The  Roman  period  of  British  history  belongs  to  the 
ancient  world.  It  has  little  or  nothing  to  do  with 
modern  development.  It  was  the  realization  of  a  differ- 
ent system  of  credence  from  that  which  was  to  take 
possession  of  the  world.  The  credence  was  false,  and 


THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION.         347 

the  system  had  worn  out.  The  middle  of  the  fifth  cent- 
ury, then,  was  the  period  when  the  modern  history  of 
Britain  commences. 

The  first  period  was  expressed  in  barbarous  war. 
From  the  shores  of  the  Baltic,  and  from  the  neighbor- 
ing countries,  hordes  of  barbarous  warriors  poured  forth 
under  the  names  of  Saxons,  Danes,  or  Northmen.  They 
were  pirates  by  profession,  pagans  in  religion,  and  men 
of  the  most  dauntless  courage,  combined  with  the  direst 
ferocity.  Their  trade  was  war,  which  they  carried  on 
relentlessly. 

The  Saxons  settled  in  Britain,  and  laid  the  rude 
foundations  of  a  civil  state.  Christianity  began  to  exert 
its  influence ;  and  though  the  Saxon  leaders  or  kings 
were  for  the  most  part  warriors,  the  people  would 
probably  have  settled  down  to  peaceable  agriculture  had 
it  not  been  for  the  arrival  of  new  hordes  of  Northmen 
who  from  the  latter  part  of  the  eighth  century  invaded 
England,  and  continued  the  barbarous  system  of  war 
down  to  the  Norman  conquest. 

By  barbarous  war  must  be  understood  war  which 
is  not  conducted  according  to  rules  which  bind  both 
parties ;  and  this  system  may  be  said  to  have  prevailed 
from  the  departure  of  the  Romans  to  the  arrival  of  the 
Normans. 

The  Normans  introduced  knightly  war.  A  knight  was 
not  a  barbarian.  He  had  his  laws  of  chivalry,  rude  at 
first,  but  gradually  becoming  more  precise,  more  merci- 
ful, more  fair,  and  more  punctilious  of  honor.  William 
was  a  knightly  leader;  neither  a  barbarian  nor  a  king, 
but  a  war  chief  whose  title  was  the  sword,  but  still  the 
sword  of  a  regulator  or  systematizer. 

From  1060  to  1485  was  the  period  of  knightly  war, 
and  Richard  III.  was  the  last  of  the  knight  warriors. 
His  successor,  Henry  VII.,  was  a  king — a  law  or  parch- 
ment king ;  a  politic  prince,  who  did  his  best  to  destroy 


848         THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION. 

the  war  retinues  of  the  barons  who  had  so  long  distracted 
the  country  with  their  minor  dissensions.  During  this 
period  we  have  two  types  of  leaders — one  at  the  end  of 
the  twelfth  century,  the  other  at  the  beginning  of  the 
fifteenth;  namely,  Richard  I.,  who  was  more  a  knight 
than  a  king,  and  Henry  V.,  who  was  a  knight  fast  verg- 
ing towards  a  king.  Both  were  warriors,  both  performed 
prodigies  in  the  field  ;  but  Richard  was  a  knight  leader, 
Henry  a  king  leader.  This  was  the  period  of  warlike 
pleasures,  jousts,  and  tournaments,  which  prepared  the 
nobles  for  the  court  pleasures  that  superseded  them  in 
after  times. 

The  wars  now  became  national,  and  the  individuals 
who  performed  the  service  had  little  or  no  connection 
with  the  cause  of  the  wars.  From  this  period  down  to 
James  II.,  the  king  ruled ;  and  he  ruled  not  in  the  field 
but  in  the  cabinet. 

This  was  the  period  of  courtly  pleasures — at  first  rude, 
coarse,  and  sensual,  but  gradually  becoming  more  re- 
fined. The  nobles  became  court  gallants,  and  the  war- 
like pastimes  gradually  died  away.  The  court  of  Eliza- 
beth was  the  type  of  the  transition,  and  the  court  of 
Charles  II.  was  the  full  developed  type  of  pleasure. 
Here  were  courtiers  and  courtesans  in  their  glory ;  the 
first  without  courage,  the  latter  without  modesty,  but 
very  elegant  and  agreeable  gentlemen  and  ladies,  there 
can  be  no  doubt. 

England  had  never  been  so  great  as  under  the  domin- 
ion of  Oliver  Cromwell,  and  Cromwell  permitted  no 
court  gallants.  And  had  England  and  Scotland  under- 
stood their  interests,  there  would  have  been  no  Charles 
II.  and  no  James  II.  on  this  side  of  the  straits  of  Dover. 
Twice  England  has  missed  her  destiny,  and  suffered  for 
it;  once  when  Wickliffe  taught  religion,  while  Wat 
Tyler  demanded  the  abolition  of  slavery  and  the  destruc- 
tion of  the  feudal  system.  These  were  voices  which 


THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION,        349 

England  would  not  hear ;  and  England  had  a  Henry  VIII. 
and  a  Charles  II.  to  do  the  work.  And  once  when  Crom- 
well would  have  organized  the  state  if  men  would  have 
let  him.  But  they  chose  rather  a  king  than  a  republic, 
and  Charles  II.  abolished  the  feudal  tenures,  allowing  the 
lands  to  escape ;  and  George  III.,  in  consequence  of  that 
alienation,  fixed  the  national  debt  on  the  laborers  of  the 
country.  The  third  time  that  England's  opportunity 
occurs,  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  sure  work  will  be  made  of 
the  evils  that  remain ;  and  probably  that  opportunity  is 
not  quite  so  far  distant  as  many  imagine. 

From  the  reign  of  William  III.  down  to  the  reign  of 
,  George  IV.,  was  the  age  of  policy.  Whigs  and  Tories 
now  began  to  rule.  They  were  no  longer  war  lords  nor 
pleasure  lords,  but  policy  lords.  Everything  now  became 
a  mysterious  matter  of  policy.  The  most  vague  and 
ridiculous  notions  were  esteemed  profound  truths,  to 
which  as  much  importance  was  attached  by  the  nobles 
of  this  period,  as  had  been  attached  to  the  shape  of  a 
frill  by  the  court  gallants  of  the  former  period,  or  to  the 
punctilios  of  knightly  war  in  the  fourteenth  and  fifteenth 
centuries. 

The  court  women  also,  like  the  men,  had  progressed 
beyond  the  mere  elegancies  of  the  courtesan,  and  had 
become  politicians  or  tools  for  political  purposes.  Wai- 
was  now  not  the  pursuit  but  the  engine  of  the  politician  ; 
and  national  wars  were  engaged  in  at  the  expense  of  the 
people  as  matters  of  policy.  The  court  of  Anne  repre- 
sented the  earlier  form  of  this  period ;  and  in  it  we  recog- 
nize pursuits  essentially  different  from  those  of  former 
courts.  William  had  been  half  a  king,  half  a  tool  in  the 
hands  of  the  policy  aristocracy.  The  religion  of  the 
people  had  by  no  means  been  the  great  motive  that  led 
to  the  introduction  of  his  Protestant  Majesty,  but  the 
protestantizing  of  the  State,  for  the  purpose  of  destroy- 
ing the  despotism  of  the  crown.  The  monarch  now  ruled  no 


350         THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION. 

more,  but  the  ministers  and  the  parties  ;  and  the  monarch 
was  the  legal  instrument  in  the  hands  of  the  parties ;  in 
fact,  the  effigy  shown  to  the  people  to  give  validity  to 
the  arrangements  of  legislators  and  schemers.  During 
William's  reign,  the  policy  system  acquired  its  strength, 
and  in  Anne's  reign  it  took  the  direction  of  the  national 
affairs.  Her  court  consequently  became  the  scene  of 
political  intrigues  in  which  she  was  the  puppet,  the 
politicians  the  showmen,  and  the  people  the  spectators, 
who  paid  for  the  show.  "  The  queen  loved  her  own  way, 
and,  with  the  ordinary  infirmity  of  conscious  incapacity, 
was  extremely  jealous  of  any  semblance  of  interference 
with  the  exercise  of  her  authority ;  yet  she  was  the  con- 
stant slave  of  favorites,  who  in  their  turn  were  the  tools 
of  intriguing  politicians.  Though  her  preferences  and 
dislikes  had  often  no  better  foundations  than  the  pre- 
dilections of  the  toilet,  it  was  upon  them  that  the  policy 
of  her  administration  and  the  destinies  of  Europe 
depended.  By  a  chambermaid's  intrigue  Bolingbroke 
triumphed  over  his  rival,  the  Earl  of  Oxford.  It  was 
because  the  queen  fondly  doted  on  the  Duchess  of 
Marlborough,  that  her  reign  was  '  adorned  by  the  glories 
of  Blenhein  and  Ramillies ; '  it  was  because  Mrs.  Abigail 
Masham  artfully  supplanted  her  benefactress  in  royal 
favor,  that  a  stop  was  put  to  the  war  which  ravaged  the 
continent ;  it  was  in  great  part  owing  to  the  influence 
of  the  Duchess  of  Somerset,  another  favorite  lady,  that 
the  queen  did  not  attempt  to  recall  her  brother,  the 
Chevalier  St.  George.  Thus,  probably,  a  feeble-minded 
princess,  influenced  only  by  her  waiting-women,  deter- 
mined that  the  pretender  should  be  excluded  from  Eng- 
land, a  Tory  and  High  Church  ministry  formed,  and  a 
Bourbon  seated  beyond  the  Pyrenees.  Of  the  twelve 
years  of  her  majesty's  reign,  ten  were  years  of  fierce 
warfare,  that  laid  waste  the  finest  countries  in  Europe. 
The  point  at  issue  between  France  and  the  confederate 


THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION.         351 

powers  was  the  succession  to  the  Spanish  monarchy ; 
whether  Philip  of  Anjou,  a  grandson  of  Louis  XIV.,  or 
Charles  Archduke  of  Austria,  the  second  son  of  Leopold 
Emperor  of  Germany,  should  inherit  the  crown  of  Spain. 
England  exerted  her  utmost  force  in  this  contest,  both  in 
men  and  money,  though  it  was  nearly  indifferent  to  her 
interests  whether  Austria  or  France  were  aggrandized  by 
the  acquisition  of  Spain  and  America."  "But  the 
splendid  triumphs  of  Marlborough  and  Prince  Eugene 
were  an  inadequate  compensation  for  the  decay  of  trade 
and  rapid  increase  of  the  public  debt  and  taxes."  This, 
however,  was  only  the  commencement  of  the  policy 
system,  which  came  to  its  full  completion  in  the  reign  of 
George  III.,  who  was  to  policy  exactly  what  Charles  II. 
had  been  to  pleasure ;  namely,  the  complete  and  full- 
grown  type,  who  carried  the  system  to  its  maximum, 
and  indicated  to  a  certainty  that  a  change  of  system 
would  take  place  erelong. 

The  Whigs  and  Tories,  or  policy  lords,  have  governed 
England  from  the  Revolution  of  1688  down  to  the  present 
time ;  but  a  new  system  is  in  preparation,  and  must  soon 
undergo  its  development.  The  policy  lords  are  abandon- 
ing the  direction  of  state  affairs  to  men  of  facts  and 
figures ;  and  these  facts  and  figures  are  certain  in  the 
long  run  to  obliterate  the  policy  system,  and  to  establish 
the  government  of  political  economy. 

During  this  period  (from  the  end  of  the  seventeenth 
century  to  the  present  time,  nearly)  Church  and  State 
was  the  watchword  of  internal  politics.  The  altar  and 
the  throne  were  the  effigies,  church  and  state  was  the 
war-cry,  and  the  clergy  and  nobles  were  the  priests  of 
the  superstition.  Everything  was  squared  upon  the 
plan  of  Church  and  State  policy.  Scotland,  which  had 
withstood  the  arms  of  England,  was  overcome  by  state 
policy,  and  united  legislatively  and  executively  to  the 
State.  "This  important  measure  was  more  popular  in 


352        THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION. 

England  than  Scotland,  where  it  was  stoutly  opposed  by 
Fletcher  of  Saltoun,  the  Earl  of  Belhaven,  and  the 
Dukes  of  Athol  and  Hamilton,  though  the  quiet 
acquiescence  of  the  last  with  a  majority  of  the  Scots 
Parliament,  was  procured  by  a  judicious  distribution  of 
honors  and  bribes  towards  the  close  of  the  negotiations." 
This  was  another  step  towards  the  generalization  of  gov- 
ernment, which  has  been  going  on  since  the  barons  were 
denied  the  right  of  private  war,  and  which  process  of 
generalization  is  as  apparent  in  the  history  of  France  as 
in  that  of  Britain. 

Another  and  very  important  step  was  the  suppression 
or  suspension  of  the  convocation  of  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land; a  step  which  in  fact  destroyed  the  ecclesiastical 
liberties  of  that  church,  and  made  it  a  branch  of  the 
service,  like  the  army.  As  soon  as  the  convocation  re- 
vives, a  new  era  will  commence  for  England. 

The  great  reign  of  policy,  however,  was  the  reign  of 
George  III.,  which  exhibited  the  system  in  full  perfec- 
tion. The  policy  of  this  reign  appears  now  to  be  remark- 
able ;  but  to  the  actors  themselves  appeared  no  doubt  very 
wise  and  clever,  and  quite  as  indubitably  right  as  war  or 
pleasure  had  appeared  to  Richard  I.  or  Charles  II.  The 
first  great  exhibition  was  the  attempt  to  coerce  the 
American  colonies,  "the  deluded  and  unhappy  multi- 
tude," as  the  inhabitants  of  America  were  termed  in  the 
king's  speech  of  1777.  This  was  a  policy  war;  and  it 
cost  Britain  about  130  millions  sterling,  the  interest  of 
which  is  now  taken  from  the  profits  of  the  present  labor- 
ers. And  the  .policy  of  the  war  may  be  inferred  from 
the  fact,  that  the  advantages  derived  by  Britain  from  a 
trade  with  free  America,  increased  continually  from  the 
moment  the  transatlantic  Britons  were  allowed  to  make 
their  own  political  arrangements.  The  next  piece  of 
policy  was  the  great  French  war,  or  series  of  wars, 
which  was  at  first  a  war  against  popular  democracy,  and 


THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION.        353 

latterly  a  war  against  imperial  despotism.  The  policy 
rulers  of  Britain  carried  on  this  war  at  an  expense  of 
about  600  millions  sterling ;  and,  to  defray  the  charge, 
the  revenues  of  this  and  future  generations  were  sold  in 
perpetuity  to  Jews  and  money-dealers. 

Another  piece  of  policy  was  the  union  with  Ireland 
without  Catholic  emancipation,  and  the  union  of  the 
Protestant  Episcopal  Church  of  that  country  with  the 
Church  of  England.  The  reign  of  policy,  however,  has 
culminated,  and  a  new  system  may  reasonably  be  ex- 
pected to  supplant  it.  Catholic  emancipation,  the  Re- 
form bill,  the  emancipation  of  the  negroes,  and  the  repeal 
of  the  corn-laws,  are  certain  evidences  that  the  reign  of 
mere  policy  is  dying  away.  Changes  of  this  character, 
however,  do  not  take  place  at  once ;  but  as  new  genera- 
tions grow  up  in  different  circumstances,  and  with  dif- 
ferent associations,  new  credences  supplant  the  old,  and 
those  new  credences  grow  gradually  into  realization. 
The  policy  system  is  not  dead,  only  dying.  It  still  re- 
tains its  power  with  regard  to  Russia,  the  great  bugbear 
of  the  policy  gentry,  as  if  God  intended  the  nations  of 
the  earth  to  progress  only  as  the  rulers  of  Britain  would 
allow  them.  The  Russians  are  the  progressors,  the  cen- 
tralizers,  the  generalizers,  the  reducers  to  rule  and  sys- 
tem ;  and  the  Russians  are  doing  that  greatest  of  all  state 
services — destroying  the  power  of  the  nobles,  and  sub- 
jecting men  to  the  laws  of  the  State.  Of  course,  Russia 
is  a  despotism,  and  cannot  be  otherwise  without  falling 
into  confusion.  There  is  a  period  in  the  history  of  civil- 
ization when  the  ruler  is  necessarily  despotic,  as  there 
are  evils  which  can  give  way  only  before,  the  influence 
and  beneath  the  hand  of  despotism.  Despotism  alone, 
whether  democratic  or  autocratic,  appears  capable  of 
destroying  the  superstitious  ecclesiastical  institutions 
which  have  descended  from  darker  ages.  Henry  VIII. 
was  a  despot,  and  had  he  not  been  a  despot,  he  could  not 
23 


354        THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION. 

have  uprooted  the  Papal  Church  and  taken  away  its 
lands.  The  French  democrats  were  despots,  and  they 
also  uprooted  the  state  superstition,  and  took  away  its 
lands.  And  who  knows  how  soon  a  Russian  despot  may 
destroy  the  Greek  Church,  and  emancipate  the  whole  of 
the  serfs  ?  Organization  by  all  means,  and  at  all 
hazards,  appears  the  only  mode  by  which  barbarous 
nations  can  be  civilized ;  and  the  real  evil  lies  not  in  des- 
potic power,  but  in  the  legal  or  parchment  perpetuation 
of  that  power  beyond  the  circumstances  that  make  it 
arise  spontaneously. 

And  yet  of  this  progressing  Russia  (which  has  already 
collected  the  laws  of  the  empire,  thereby  laying  the 
foundation  of  the  ultimate  supremacy  of  law,  and  not  of 
man),  the  policy  rulers  of  Britain  consider  themselves 
bound  by  policy  to  entertain  vague  apprehensions,  and 
in  consequence  to  prop  up  the  Mahomedan  despotism, 
which  does  not  progress.  It  would  have  been  much  more 
rational  if  England  and  France  had  driven  the  Turks  out 
of  Europe  altogether.  To  allow  the  first  geographical 
position  in  Eastern  Europe  to  remain  in  the  hands  of 
Mahomedan s,  is  perfectly  absurd;  and  if  Russia  can 
take  possession  of  it,  surely  England,  with  Gibraltar, 
Malta,  the  Cape,  etc.,  etc.,  can  have  no  just  ground  of  in- 
terference, except  to  make  sure  that  the  seas  are  kept 
open  for  her  merchants.  The  seas  are  "  the  highways  of 
the  world,"  and  every  nation  has  a  right  to  require  that 
they  shall  never  be  obstructed.  Britain  has  already  had 
two  lessons  in  policy  wars,  and  these  might  suffice  to 
show  their  total  inefficiency  to  produce  even  the  end  re- 
quired, setting  aside  the  question  whether  the  end  was 
desirable.  Notwithstanding  the  efforts  of  Britain, 
America  did  become  independent;  and  all  that  Britain 
obtained  was  her  debt.  And,  notwithstanding  all  the 
efforts  of  Britain,  France  rejected  the  Bourbons,  old  and 
young;  and  all  that  Britain  obtained  was  a  much 


THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION.         355 

larger  debt.  And  if  the  latter  effort,  which  cannot 
reasonably  be  expected  to  be  surpassed  on  any  future 
occasion,  was  so  utterly  powerless  to  arrest  the 
progress  of  advancing  credence,  surely  the  policy  system 
may  be  laid  aside  as  a  mere  superstition,  destructive  to 
those  who  act  upon  its  dictates,  and  proven  beyond  dis- 
pute to  be  not  the  rule  that  should  guide  statesmen  in 
their  labors. 

But  the  reign  of  policy  is  fast  drawing  to  a  close  ;  and 
we  must  endeavor  to  estimate  its  logical  successor. 
Looking  to  the  past,  what  may  we  expect  the  future  to  be? 
This  is  the  question  for  which  we  have .  endeavored  to 
exhibit  the  principles  of  the  past ;  and  out  of  those  princi- 
ples we  think  there  flows  a  future  scheme  of  progress. 

What  have  been  the  occupations  of  the  ruling  classes  of 
Britain  ? 

1st.  War,  which  was  barbarous  war  so  long  as  the 
Northmen  were  afloat. 

Knightly  war,  consequent  on  the  Norman  conquest. 
William  was  partly  a  barbarous  leader,  partly  a  great  baron 
with  his  retainers,  and  partly  a  knight ;  or  a  war  leader 
beginning  gradually  to  grow  into  a  knight.  Richard  I. 
was  a  knight,  Henry  V.  was  still  a  knight  with  a  consid- 
erable degree  of  the  court,  and  Richard  III.,  the  last 
warrior,  was  more  of  the  courtier  than  the  knight.  These 
are  the  types  or  representatives  of  the  war  period  of  society. 
The  nobles,  or  ruling  classes,  followed  the  same  kind  of 
development ;  first  barbarous  warriors,  then  knightly  war- 
riors, then  barons  with  retinues,  who  fought  for  causes, 
and  then  courtiers. 

2d.  Pleasure.*  The  nobles,  from  knightly  war  pro- 
gressed to  knightly  courtesy  in  the  former  period,  and  the 


*  The  question  is,  What  pursuit  was  esteemed  as  the  highest  pursuit  in 
which  men  could  engage  ?  and  though  pleasure  expresses  imperfectly  the 
meaning,  there  can  be  no  dovibt  that  during  this  period  court  pleasure  held  the 
very  first  rank,  as  war  had  previously  done,  and  policy  did  at  a  later  period. 


356          THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION. 

warlike  pastimes  at  which  ladies  were  present,  prepared 
them  for  the  court  pleasures.  Queen  Elizabeth  was  a 
court  lady  (still,  however,  with  a  smattering  of  the  war 
system),  and  in  her  court  the  nobles  exhibit  the  feeble 
remains  of  knighthood,  and  the  rapid  growth  of  courtier- 
ship.  In  Charles  II.'s  time  the  war  knight  had  become 
supplanted  entirely  by  the  court  knight.  Court  pleasures 
were  the  summit  of  human  aspiration  for  the  rulers  of 
the  State. 

3d.  Policy.  The  introduction  of  a  foreign  ruler  neces- 
sarily introduced  foreign  politics,  and  the  courtiers  natu- 
rally became  schemers  and  intriguers.  The  court  of  Anne 
presents  the  pleasure  courtier  defunct,  and  the  policy 
courtier  assuming  the  first  importance.  In  George  IIL's 
reign,  the  policy  system  had  arrived  at  full  perfection ; 
and,  if  it  could  have  been  carried  on  without  costing 
money,  might  have  gone  on  perhaps  much  longer. 

Between  war,  knightly  war,  courtly  pleasures,  and 
courtly  policy,  there  is  a  natural  connection.  The  one 
grows  out  of  the  other.  Their  order  is  not  accidental. 
Courtly  pleasures  could  never  have  succeeded  immediately 
on  barbarous  war ;  nor  could  courtly  policy  have  succeeded 
immediately  on  knightly  war.  We  have  here  a  growth, 
or  expansion,  or  development,  of  the  pursuits  of  the  ruling 
classes  ;  and,  singularly  enough,  the  connection  of  one 
system  with  another  is  still  preserved  in  language.  The 
ambiguities  of  words  sometimes  involve  curious  truths ; 
and  several  words  now  in  use  in  English,  are  applicable 
to  two  of  these  systems.  The  word  gallantry,  may  mean 
gallantry  in  the  field  or  in  the  court ;  in  the  former  it 
belongs  to  the  war  system,  in  the  latter  to  the  pleasure 
system ;  and  when  court  gallantry  from  ceremonious  de- 
votion became  transformed  into  the  Charles  the  Second 
system,  the  word  intrigue  expresses  the  action,  and  this 
is  also  applicable  to  the  policy  pursuits  which  followed, 
Thus— 


THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION.         357 

Knightly  war,         )  Gaiiantrv  Court  Pleasures     i  Intricues  * 

Court  pleasures,    J  °  Policy, 

But  the  policy  system  is  drawing  to  a  close.  The  balance 
of  power  is  an  exploded  superstition ;  the  balance  of  trade 
is  nearly  exploded ;  the  integrity  of  the  empire  is  now  a 
matter  of  little  moment;  and  Canada  or  the  West  Indies 
might  govern  themselves  without  costing  Britain  another 
130  millions  to  prevent  them  ;  and  the  protection  of  trade 
and  agriculture  are  very  generally  regarded  as  fallacious 
impostures  meaning  monopoly,  labor  taxation,  and  in- 
crease of  the  landlords'  rents. 

But  what  system  follows  policy  in  the  natural  order  of 
development  ? 

Policy  is  a  very  vague  word  as  used  by  politicians.  It 
had  a  definite  meaning  in  the  abstract,  but  in  the  concrete 
meant  anything  that  any  party  chose  to  advocate.  In  the 
abstract,  it  meant  that  certain  measures,  or  certain  modes 
of  operation,  would  be  advantageous  to  the  country.  But  in 
the  concrete,  it  meant  a  war  with  America,  or  a  war  with 
France,  or  the  exclusion  of  foreign  goods,  or  the  depri- 
vation of  civil  rights  because  a  man  held  certain  religious 
tenets,  or  the  employment  of  spies,  or  the  retention  of  the 
negro  in  slavery,  or  a  host  of  other  measures,  all  advo- 
cated by  the  ruling  classes  of  Britain  as  matters  of  ex- 
cellent policy.  But  while  the  policy  superstition  was  in 
the  ascendant,  a  vast  trade  was  growing  up  in  Britain,  and 
traders  have  an  unfortunate  habit  of  regarding  profit  and 
loss  as  measured  by  money.  And  though  traders  are 
nearly  as  backward  in  ascertaining  their  real  interests,  as 
agriculturists  in  abandoning  their  clumsy  implements  and 


*  The  ambiguous  word  that  'connects  the  policy  system  with  the  political 
economy  system  is  perhaps  measures.    Thus  — 


s,  [GaUantry.  Court  pleasures,  j.  Intrigueg  g}|^  |.Meagureg 

Where  the  word  measures  means  in  the  first  sense  actions,  and  in  the  second 
sense  measurements  —  that  is,  the  measurements  that  determine  whether  the 
actions  are  or  are  not  correct.  The  word  is  actually  used  in  these  two  senses. 


358         THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION. 

adopting  an  improved  system  of  cultivation  ;  trade,  with 
free  discussion,  gradually  opens  its  eyes,  and  discovers 
that,  alas !  all.  this  admirable  policy  has  been  only  a  de- 
lusion, a  creditor  by  blood,  glory,  and  pauperism,  and  a 
debtor  to  vast  sums  of  gold. 

Trade  then  imperceptibly,  and  almost  unconsciously, 
begins  to  influence  policy,  not  by  denying  that  policy 
ought  to  rule,  but  by  discovering  and  making  manifest 
that  certain  acts  which  were  assumed  to  be  politic  are 
actually  disadvantageous ;  that  they  involve  loss  and  not 
profit,  and  consequently  that  they  ought  not  to  be  done. 
Knowledge  reduces  policy  from  its  flights  of  eloquence  to 
the  investigation  of  facts  and  figures,  from  its  vague  and 
mysterious  superstitions  to  its  plain  and  palpable  truths, 
far  less  grand  of  course,  but  still  truths ;  and  truths  are 
powerful  when  profit  and  loss  are  concerned.  And  thus 
the  dispute  between  policy  and  trade  is  not  whether 
policy  ought  to  direct  the  affairs  of  the  State,  but 
whether  an  act  propounded  as  an  act  of  policy  really  is 
so  or  not.  Is  it  really  advantageous  ?  The  policy  gentle- 
men may  enlarge  on  the  glory  of  the  British  arms,  the 
necessity  of  preserving  the  constitution,  etc. ;  but  trade 
replies,  "  Exactly,  but  does  what  you  are  pleased  to  term 
the  glory  of  the  British  arms  really  conduce  to  the  wel- 
fare of  the  country?  Does  your  mode  of  understanding 
the  constitution  really  conduce  to  the  welfare  of  the 
country?  Does  your  mode  of  imposing  and  spending  the 
taxes  really  conduce  to  the  welfare  of  the  country?  for  in 
this  case  alone  can  your  measures  be  looked  upon  as  acts 
of  policy." 

And  thus  the  moment  acts  of  policy  come  to  be  accu- 
rately measured  instead  of  having  their  value  assumed, 
and  this  measurement  follows  quite  naturally  in  the  order 
of  progress ;  the  policy  system  is  defunct,  and  political 
economy,  which  has  grown  out  of  it  by  the  mere  meas- 
urement of  the  acts  of  so-called  policy,  supersedes  it. 


THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION.         359 

Policy  was  a  major  without  a  minor,  or  rather  with  any 
minor  which  the  statesman  chose  to  put  into  the  syllo- 
gism ;  but  political  economy  undertakes  to  furnish  the 
true  minor — not  arbitrary,  but  scientific — and  a  conse- 
quent rule  of  political  economy  takes  place  by  a  natural 
order  of  development. 

And  as  this  method  appears  so  plain  and  natural,  it 
would  seem  a  fair  inference  that  Britain  is  now  about  to 
see  the  policy  system  interred,  and  to  see  the  political 
economists  take  the  direction  of  the  country.  And  that 
they  will  ere  long  take  the  direction  of  the  state,  appears 
beyond  a  doubt.  But  how  far  the  government  of  Britain, 
upon  the  principles  of  political  economy,  is  compatible 
with  the  preservation  of  an  aristocracy  and  a  labor  taxa- 
tion, of  course  remains  to  be  proved.  The  economists 
have  not  yet  the  power,  nor  can  they  have  it  till  a  modi- 
fication takes  place  in  the  representation ;  but  when  that 
modification  takes  place,  and  perhaps  few  men  would 
give  odds  that  it  does  not  take  place  in  less  than  fifteen 
years,  the  rule  of  the  policy  lords  and  parchment  aristoc- 
racy is  done.  The  moment  a  new  change  makes  the  rep- 
resentation more  liberal  than  the  present  system,  and 
really  adapts  it  to  the  requirements  of  the  country,  that 
moment  does  a  new  era  of  government  open  up  to 
Britain,  and  that  moment  do  the  economists  naturally 
enter  on  the  functions  of  state  direction,  provided  no 
great  accidents  happen  in  the  interval. 

But  neither  is  political  economy  the  ultimate.  It  is  a 
step  beyond  policy,  as  the  reign  of  court  policy  was  a 
step  beyond  the  reign  of  court  pleasure.  But  it  is  logic- 
ally insufficient.  There  are  questions  which  it  cannot 
answer,  or  dare  not  answer.  It  must  take  the  money  man- 
agement of  the  state,  and  determine  the  mode  in  which 
taxes  should  be  levied,  as  well  as  the  amount  of  taxes ;  and, 
in  determining  the  mode  in  which  taxes  ought  to  be  levied, 
it  must  come  between  two  parties, — the  laborers  who 


360          THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION. 

create  the  wealth  of  the  country,  and  the  landlords  who 
consume  the  rents.  This,  position  will  bring  political 
economy  to  a  stand.  The  difficulty  is  insoluble  to 
political  economy,  and  a  new  system  must  grow,  develop, 
and  assume  the  direction  of  the  country. 

Political  economy  professes  to  teach  how  value  grows, 
increases,  accumulates,  and  who  makes  it.  The  latter 
question,  solved  by  a  fair  exposition  of  ascertained  facts, 
first  systematized,  and  then  reduced  to  a  law,  lands  society 
on  the  grand  question,  "To  whom  does  it  belong?" 
With  this  question  political  economy,  as  such,  has  no 
concern.  It  is  beyond  political  economy,  higher  than 
political  economy,  and  is  what  political  economy  is  not, — 
it  is  final  in  theory.  Let  political  economy  be  as  perfect 
as  any  science  can  possibly  be,  beyond  it  there  lies  the 
question,  To  whom — to  what  persons — does  the  created 
value  belong?  And  first  and  foremost  must  come  the 
question  of  the  land.  Suppose,  for  instance,  it  should  be 
clearly  proven,  according  to  the  science  of  facts  (as  some 
have  termed  economy),  that  it  would  be  more  beneficial 
to  the  whole  associated  community  of  Britain,  to  abolish 
all  customs  and  excises,  and  all  taxes  whatever  except  a 
land-tax,  which  could  be  collected  for  nothing  or  next  to 
nothing,  what  would  political  economy  say  in  that  case? 
Would  it  abolish  all  the  taxes  that  interfere  with  trade, 
and  thereby  absorb  the  rents  of  the  lands ;  or  would  it 
determine  that  a  man  with  a  parchment  who  does  not 
labor,  is  to  be  preferred  to  a  man  without  a  parchment 
who  does?  From  this  dilemma  political  economy  cannot 
escape.  There  must  be  another  system,  one  that  can 
solve  these  questions  by  rule,  not  arbitrarily  but  scien- 
tifically— by  a  rule  that  is  general  and  applicable  to  all 
parties. 

And  this  new  system  is  necessarily  politics,  or  the 
science  of  equity. 

Political  economy,  in  fact,  is  the  natural  preparative  for 


THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION. 


361 


a  science  of  equity.  All  its  questions  solved  (and  solved 
in  such  a  manner  that  the  solutions  are  incapable  of  dis- 
pute, and  come  to  be  taught  as  ordinary  matters  of  as- 
certained truth),  there  yet  remains  the  question,  "  Who 
is  the  proprietor  of  the  created  value  ?  "  And  this  ques- 
tion arises  necessarily  so  soon  as  political  economy  has 
discovered  who  creates  the  value.  And  thus,  politics,  or 
the  science  of  equity  springs  necessarily  in  chronological 
order  out  of  political  economy ;  and  when  economists 
have  directed  the  state  affairs  up  to  those  questions 
which  they  cannot  answer,  they  must  cede  the  first  place 
to  the  true  politicians,  or  themselves  become  true  poli- 
ticians. And  when  that  period  arrives,  the  political  evo- 
lution is  complete,  and  there  is  the  reign  of  equity  or 
justice. 

To  sum  up  the  historic  probabilities,  then,  we  may 
present  the  following  table.  The  producers  of  food  and 
of  articles  to  exchange  against  food  are  the  ruled ;  and 
the  rulers  appear  under  the  respective  forms  of 


THE  RULERS. 

Warriors. 

War  on  barbarous  principles, 
from  the  departure  of  the  Ro- 
mans to  the  Conquest. 

Knight  Warriors. 
From  the  Conquest  to  death  of 
Richard  III. 

King  and  Courtiers. 
From  Henry   VII.   to  Revolu- 
tion of  1688. 

Church  and  State  Policy  Rulers. 
From   1688  to   George    IV.   or 
William  IV. 

Political  Economy  Rulers. 
Beginning  to  assume  direction 
of  the  State  in  the  Reign  of  Queen 
Victoria. 


THE  RULED. 

The  Cultivators,  Traders,  Man- 
ufacturers, etc.,  etc. 


362        THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION. 

And  the  order  of  the  systems  that  have  hitherto  been 
pursued  by  the  ruling  classes,  and  of  the  systems  which 
may  be  expected  in  future,  is  as  follows  : — 

Manifestation. 

1.  The  Barbarous  War  System. 

2.  The  Knightly  War  System. 

3.  The  Court  Gallant  System. 

4.  The  Court  Policy  System. 

5.  The  Political  Economy  System. 

6.  The  Science  of  Equity  System. 

7.  Finally,  the  Supremacy  of  Christianity. 

Faculties  of  Mind. 

1.  Combativeness  and  Lower  Passions — Manual  Arts  developing. 

2.  Combativeness  and  Sentiments — Fine  Arts  developing. 

3.  Voluptuousness,  with  the  Mechanical  Arts  developing. 

4.  Cunning,  with  the  Understanding  developing. 

5.  Benefit,  or  Utility,  with  the  Practical  Keason. 

6.  Justice,  with  the  Theoretic  Reason. 

7.  Benevolence,  with  the  Mind  developed. 

If  this  scheme  be  correct,  the  civilization  of  man  under 
the  influence  of  Christianity — such  as  it  was  after  its  cor- 
ruption, and  such  as  it  was  when  reformed  by  the  resus- 
citation of  the  Bible — would  manifest  itself  in  the  State 
in  the  predominance  of, 

Starting-point. — The  Lower  Passions. 

The  Lower  Sentiments. 
The  Non-Moral  Keason. 
The  Moral  Reason. 

Termination.  —  The  Higher  Sentiments. 
[By  non-moral  reason,  we  mean  the  intellect  applied  to 
external  nature,  or  to  such  of  the  human  phenomena  as 
neither  involve  man's  relation  to  man,  nor  the  laws  that 
should  regulate  the  interference  of  one  man  with  another. 
By  moral  reason,  we  mean  the  intellect  applied  to"  the 
relations  of  men  in  the  matter  of  interference,  and  to  the 


THE  THEOEY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION.         363 

discovery  of  the  laws  which  should  regulate  that  inter- 
ference, and  also  the  intellect  applied  to  the  relations  of 
in  an  to  the  Divine  Being.] 

And  this  scheme  (imperfectly  and  crudely  as  we  have 
advanced  it),  we  maintain,  is  borne  out,  first, .  by  the 
analytic  reason  analyzing  the  forms  of  scientific  truth  and 
the  order  of  scientific  development ;  second,  by  the  analy- 
sis of  the  components  of  man's  nature ;  and  third,  by  the 
abstract  form  of  history,  so  far  as  it  has  extended.  And 
on  these  three  grounds,  if  they  coincide  and  mutually 
support  each  other,  may  be  projected  the  natural  prob- 
ability of  a  period  yet  to  come,  when  justice  shall  be 
realized  on  earth,  to  be  followed  by  a  period  when  Chris- 
tianity shall  reign  supreme,  and  call  into  real  and  sys- 
tematic action  the  higher  and  nobler  sentiments  of  man. 


364        THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION. 


CONCLUSION. 


WE  have  now  to  offer  a  few  observations  on  the  knowl- 
edge that  is  logically  subsequent  to  the  science  of  equity, 
and  which  therefore  may  be  expected  to  evolve  chrono- 
logically at  some  future  period.  The  whole  of  our  argu- 
ment is  based  on  the  consideration,  that  there  is  a  logical 
connection  between  the  sciences,  and  that  therefore  there 
is  a  necessary  order  in  which  they  must  evolve  chronolog- 
ically; and  consequently,  that  the  logical  classification 
of  the  sciences  does  actually  scheme  out  in  its  abstract 
form  the  intellectual  development  of  the  human  race.  If, 
then,  we  can  class  the  knowledge  not  yet  reduced  to 
scientific  ordination,  we  can  project  according  to  a  plan 
(which  is  not  .arbitrary)  the  future  phase  of  man's  intel- 
lectual credence,  and  consequently  form  within  certain 
limits  an  estimation  of  man's  future  destiny  on  earth. 

Science  exists  in  the  mind,  and  in  the  mind  alone.  And 
a  branch  of  knowledge  has  become  a  science  when  its 
substantive  elements  are  made  to  function  in  the  blank 
or  abstract  categories  of  the  reason,  which  are  identically 
the  same  in  all  human  intellect.  And  on  this  account  it 
is  that  science  abolishes  diversity  and  restores  unity  of 
credence.  And  as  there  is  but  one  universe  for  man  to 
know,  and  but  one  type  of  intellect  *  to  apprehend  that 
universe,  it  follows  as  a  natural  necessity,  that  if  man 
be  allowed  sufficient  time  to  reduce  to  scientific  ordination 
all  the  cognizable  substantives  that  exist  within  the 

*  The  same  in  essential  quality,  though  not  the  same  in  relative  quantity. 


THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION.         365 

range  of  intellection,  a  universal  unity  of  credence  will 
evolve.  And  this  is  the  magnificent  destiny  of  science. 
^Esthetic  differences  there  will  always  be,  so  long  as 
individuals  present  a  variety  of  constitution ;  but  dif- 
ferences of  intellection  there  can  only  be  from  ignorance, 
superstition,  or  error ;  and  science  is  the  obliterate!1  of 
ignorance,  superstition,  and  error. 

The  unquestionable  tendency  of  science  is  to  improve 
the  condition  of  mankind  on  the  surface  of  the  habitable 
globe  ;  but  the  past  period  of  scientific  evolution  has  been 
necessarily  employed  more  in  the  evolution  of  true  intel- 
lection, than  in  the  transformation  of  the  correct  credence 
into  a  concrete  rule  of  action,  which  should  bear  its  legiti- 
mate fruits  and  exhibit  the  human  race  in  an  aspect  as 
yet  unknown,  and  as  yet  almost  universally  discredited, 
notwithstanding  the  cheering  and  unmistakable  promises 
of  divine  revelation.  The  light  of  science  has  arisen,  and 
the  morning  of  man's  welfare  is  at  hand ;  but  the  light  is 
as  yet  only  cold  and  gray,  and  the  genial  rays  of  warmth 
that  shall  bring  into  life  the  good,  are  only  beginning  to 
manifest  their  power,  and  to  bring  into  active  being  those 
germs  of  bounty  which  God  has  never  withdrawn  from 
the  world,  but  which  man  has  hitherto,  in  the  darkness 
of  his  fallen  nature,  turned  to  so  little  avail.  Science  has 
as  yet  only  been  undergoing  its  process  of  discovery ;  but 
the  period  of  its  application  must  erelong  arrive,  and  a 
new  world  of  human  benefit,  as  different  from  all  that 
man  has  yet  experienced,  must  open  to  the  race  a  world 
of  good,  as  vast  and  wonderful  as  the  realm  of  truth 
which  has  opened  its  portals  to  the  inquiring  reason  of 
modern  humanity ;  revealing  matter  not  as  a  brute 
material,  but  as  the  home  of  varied  forces  with  which  the 
Creator  has  endowed  it,  to  work  out  before  the  eyes  of 
his  creature  the  operations  of  created  nature.  Science  is 
truth,  and  truth  is  the  fountain  of  good.  The  age  of 
truth  is  now,  and  the  age  of  good  cannot  fail  to  appear. 


366         THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION. 

"  Knowledge  is  not  a  couch  whereon  to  rest  a  searching 
and  restless  spirit,  or  a  terrace  for  a  wandering  and 
variable  mind  to  walk  up  and  down  with  a  fair  prospect, 
or  a  tower  of  state  for  a  proud  mind  to  raise  itself  upon, 
or  a  fort  or  commanding  ground  for  strife  and  contention, 
or  a  shop  for  profit  or  sale ;  but  a  rich  storehouse  for  the 
glory  of  the  Creator,  and  the  relief  of  man's  estate." 

If  science  were  merely  the  reflection  in  the  human  intel- 
lect of  the  order  of  nature's  operations,  science  would  make 
man  knowing  without  making  him  wise;  and  if  science 
were  only  calculated  to  improve  man's  terrestrial  con- 
dition, and  to  make  man  rich,  science  would  only  make 
man  rich  as  the  brutes  are  rich.  Beneath  the  outward 
formula  of  science,  there  lies  the  everlasting  truth,  as  be- 
neath the  outward  forms  of  nature  there  lies  the  ever- 
lasting power.  Science  has  a  higher  and  a  nobler  destiny 
than  the  mere  illumination  of  the  intellect,  or  the  mere 
increase  of  man's  terrestrial  advantages.  "  The  heavens 
declare  the  glory  of  God,  and  the  firmament  showeth  his 
handiwork."  And  the  summation  of  all  that  science  can 
teach,  and  of  all  that  man's  reason  can  extract  from  the 
sensational  apprehension  of  material  nature,  is  the  knowl- 
edge of  that  divine  Creator,  "who  hath  measured  the 
waters  in  the  hollow  of  his  hand,  and  meted  out  heaven 
with  the  span,  and  comprehended  the  dust  of  the  earth 
in  a  measure,  and  weighed  the  mountains  in  scales  and 
the  hills  in  a  balance." 

"Lift  up  your  eyes  on  high,  and  behold  who  hath 
created  these  things,*  that  bringeth  out  their  host  by 
number;  he  calleth  them  all  by  names,  by  the  greatness 
of  his  might,  for  that  he  is  strong  in  power,  not  one 
faileth." 

*  This  most  natural  reply  to  the  mere  logic  of  scepticism,  is  said  to  have 
been  used  by  Napoleon — in  Egypt,  if  we  remember  rightly— when  the  savants 
around  him  were  developing  their  infidel  reasonings.  "  All  very  true,  gentle- 
men," he  said,  pointing  to  the  starry  firmament,  "but  who  made  all  these  ? " 


THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION.       367 

Posterior  to  the  science  of  equity  in  the  logical  order 
of  classification,  comes  theology  ;  and  consequently  if  the 
sciences  evolve  in  the  order  of  their  logical  ordination,  a 
period  must  come  when  theology — natural  theology — shall 
be  evolved,  and  men  shall  come  to  a  systematic  unity  of 
credence  on  the  great  question  of,  "  Who  hath  created 
these  things  ?  " 

We  have,  therefore,  to  inquire  what  kind  of  theology 
can  be  taught  by  reason,  and  how  the  scientific  determi- 
nation of  the  Creator  grows  gradually  more  and  more 
precise  with  the  discovery  and  reduction  to  ordination  of 
the  various  sciences.* 

In  the  first  place,  we  may  assume  that  natural  theology  is 
impossible,  in  its  complete  form,  until  men  have  arrived  at 
a  knowledge  of  the  natural  universe.  If  the  God  of  nature 
be  inferred  from  the  works  of  nature,  it  is  plainly  evident 
that  a  knowledge  of  those  works  is  antecedently  requisite 
before  the  attributes  of  God  are  placed  on  a  sure  and 
scientific  basis  that  commands  universal  assent.f  And  if 
the  various  sciences  are  only  openings  up  to  the  intellect 
of  humanity  of  the  various  portions  of  the  natural  universe, 
it  is  also  plainly  evident  that  the  sciences  have,  each  one 
in  particular,  some  light  to  throw  on  the  great  question  of 
the  character  of  the  Creator,  and  that  the  whole  mass  of  the 

*  In  taking  this  view  of  natural  theology,  we  must  remind  the  reader  that  we 
treat  only  of  the  manner  in  which  theology  grows  and  expands  in  the  reflective 
reason  of  mankind,  and  thereby  becomes  capable  of  being  taught  as  a  branch 
of  knowledge.  The  question  of  individual  responsibility  is  much  more  impli- 
cated in  the  moral  character  of  the  dispositions,  than  in  the  greater  or  le'ss 
perspicuity  of  the  intellectual  perceptions.  So  much  so,  in  fact,  that  each  in- 
dividual would  have  been  morally  responsible,  even  although  no  man  had  ever 
mentioned  the  name  of  the  divine  Creator  to  his  fellow-man.  Responsibility  is 
a  primary  fact  belonging  to  man's  nature,  but  theology  is  susceptible  of  a 
greater  or  less  degree  of  perfection,  as  it  becomes  capable  of  being  systemat- 
ically exhibited  in  a  series  of  propositions  logically  substantiated. 

t  By  natural  theology  we  do  not  mean  that  which  is  accepted  by  the  Church, 
which,  neither  in  its  origin  nor  its  method,  is  natural  theology,  but  rather  the 
corroboration  of  the  general  truths  of  Scripture  from  the  works  of  nature  ; 
but  we  mean  such  a  natural  theology  as  shall  convince  intellect  as  intellect^ 
and  thereby  produce  a  unity  of  credence  for  the  whole  race  of  man.  The 


368         THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION. 

natural  sciences  must  give,  -as  the  grand  result,  a  purely 
scientific  natural  theology,  beyond  which  man  can  go  no 
further  without  a  supernatural  revelation;  and  therefore, 
although  revelation  be  given  to  guide  man  by  faith,  and 
especially  to  make  known  to  man  those  manifestations 
of  divine  goodness  which  could  not  possibly  be  learned 
through  natural  theology,  it  appears  evident  that  the 
natural  knowledge  of  God  will  grow  and  expand  under  the 
development  of  science,  until  in  the  end  natural  theol- 
ogy comes  to  the  very  verge  of  revelation,  and  proves 
beyond  a  doubt  that  revelation  is  exactly  what  man 
required  to  complete  his  range  of  knowledge.  It  might, 
however,  be  reasonably  advanced,  that  revelation  is 
not  an  accidental  source  of  knowledge,  existing  only 
because  man  is  a  fallen  creature,  but  that  a  revelation 
from  the  Creator  is  as  really  a  natural  source  of  knowl- 
edge, belonging  to  this  earth  and  to  the  human  race,  as 
is  the  world  of  material  phenomena,  or  the  world  of 
mental  phenomena.  The  fall  of  man  did  not  entail  rev- 
elation. Revelation  was  anterior  to  the  fall,  and  was 
a  portion  of  man's  terrestrial  lot.  It  was  a  thing  not 
miraculous  but  common;  and  it  would  appear  that  the 
revelation  we  now  have,  is  the  substitute  for  the  ordinary 
communication  that  would  have  taken  place  between  the 
Creator  and  the  intelligent  beings  he  had  called  into  ex- 
question  is  a  very  simple  one.  There  either  is,  or  there  is  not,  within  the  range 
of  natural  cognition,  the  proof,  perfectly  valid,  clear,  and  satisfactory,  of  the 
moral  existence  of  the  Creator.  If  there  is  (as  can  scarcely  be  doubted,  save 
by  those  who  have  entangled  themselves  in  spurious  reasonings,  which  do  not 
go  deep  enough),  the  proof  must  ultimately  enlighten  the  whole  world,  exactly 
on  the  same  principle  as  science  enlightens  the  world.  But  for  this,  time  is 
requisite.  Nor  need  we  be  surprised  that  time  should  be  requisite,  when  we 
reflect  that  even  physical  truth  is  slowly  accepted  by  the  world.  The  New- 
tonian philosophy  is,  as  yet,  only  accepted  by  a  portion  of  the  world  ;  and  even 
it  was  met  by  refutations,  "proving  it  to  be  false  and  absurd,  both  by  mathe- 
matical and  physical  demonstration."  And  if  physical  truth  of  this  kind  ex- 
pands so  slowly,  and  takes  so  long  a  time  to  overrun  the  earth,  no  natural 
theology  could  expect  to  meet  with  a  more  cordial  reception,  but  gradually  to 
fight  its  way  with  the  superstitions,  false  religions,  scepticisms,  and  mysticisms 
which  enslave  the  larger  portion  of  mankind. 


THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION.        369 

istence.  That  there  was  a  direct  communication  between 
God  and  his  human  creatures  is  plainly  affirmed  in  Script- 
ure. Revelation  therefore  (that  is,  communication  from 
the  world  of  spirit)  is  not  to  be  regarded  as  accidental  to 
the  world,  but  as  part  of  man's  lot  on  earth,  quite  as 
much  one  of  man's  original  sources  of  knowledge  as  sensa- 
tion or  intellection. 

But  setting  aside  this  view,  and  adhering  only  to  the 
traditional  element,  we  may  ask,  What  became  of  man's 
knowledge  of  God  ?  It  has  been,  of  course,  preserved  in 
the  books  of  Scripture,  and  in  the  minds  of  a  small  portion 
of  the  human  race;  but  with  regard  to  the  great  mass  of 
mankind,  those  not  specially  enlightened  by  supernatural 
means,  what  became  of  man's  knowledge  of  God?  In 
every  country  of  the  world  it  has  presented  itself  in  a 
corrupted  form.  False  gods,  and  false  views  of  God,  have 
universally  prevailed.  Superstition  (credence  without 
evidence)  has  universally  destroyed  some  of  the  attributes 
of  the  true  God,  and  substituted  for  them  some  invention 
of  man's  imagination.  And  not  only  has  theology,  in  its 
general  form,  been  corrupted  in  the  intellectual  apprehen- 
sion ;  but  in  the  practical  acknowledgment  of  God  in 
worship,  men  have  introduced  superstitious  and  erroneous 
ceremonies,  symbols,  and  officers,  which  were  also  corrupt, 
and,  in  many  cases,  absolute  abominations. 

Against  the  traditions  of  false  gods  and  erroneous 
worship,  science  enters  the  lists.  Science  assumes  as  its 
first  proposition  to  base  credence  on  evidence,  and  thereby 
to  evolve  truth  instead  of  error  or  superstition. 

Consequently  science,  taking  its  birth,  will  invariably 
manifest  itself  in  scepticism.  And  this  scepticism,  much 
as  it  has  been  abused,  is  really  and  truly  a  valid  process 
when  brought  to  bear  on  a  superstition  ;  and  the  Christian 
religion  is  now  valid,  because  it  has  stood  before  every 
attempt  of  scepticism,  and  fairly  triumphed  over  every 
effort  that  man  has  made  to  impugn  the  divinity  of  its 
24 


370         THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION. 

origin.  In  every  country,  therefore,  that  has  a  traditional 
worship,  it  is  a  natural  consequence  that  that  worship 
should  be  tested  by  scepticism,  whenever  it  happens  that 
men  resolutely  apply  a  scientific  method,  and  proceed  to 
posit  truth  only  when  it  is  substantiated  by  evidence. 
Scepticism  in  its  legitimate  form  is  doubt,  and  doubt  is 
one  of  the  great  elements  of  humanity  absolutely  requisite 
to  place  knowledge  on  a  secure  basis. 

Let  us  grant  then  that  a  scientific  method,  originating 
in  a  country,  will  naturally  come  into  contact  with  the 
traditional  elements  already  prevalent  in  that  country ; 
and  also,  that  it  is  the  property  of  a  scientific  method  to 
destroy  superstition,  and  to  substantiate  truth — first,  in 
its  most  general  form,  and  then  gradually  to  enter  more 
and  more  specially  on  the  accurate  survey  of  the  universe 
with  which  man  is  acquainted.  Truth  can  have  nothing 
to  fear,  but  everything  to  hope,  from  the  most  accurate 
survey  that  man  can  possibly  take  of  the  region  open  to 
cognition. 

As  a  historical  fact,  the  cultivation  of  science  in  Britain 
and  France  was  accompanied  by  scepticism,  far  less 
terrible  in  the  former  country  it  is  true,  but  not  the  less 
arising  from  the  prevalence  of  a  scientific  mode  of  ground- 
ing credence  on  evidence. 

Let  us  then  endeavor  to  ascertain  how  a  true  knowl- 
edge of  God  must  naturally  grow. 

1st.  Scepticism  enters  into  a  contest  with  tradition- 
alism, and  as  in  every  country  there  has  been  either  a 
false  or  a  corrupted  religion,  scepticism  (setting  aside 
scriptural  reformation,  which  is  not  properly  speaking 
scientific*)  has  to  achieve  the  destruction  of  superstition ; 

*  As  Mr.  Morell  has  well  observed,  philosophy  reasons,  but  does  not  preach. 
Thus  the  advancement  of  natural  theology  consists  in  developing  its  proposi- 
tions, and  substantiating  their  trueness.  A  scriptural  reformation,  on  the 
contrary,  consists  not  merely  in  the  substantiation  of  propositions,  but  in  the 
circumstance  that  men  accept  the  propositions  of  scripture  as  rules  of  life. 
But  although  philosophy,  in  one  sense,  is  purely  speculative,  we  must  not  over- 


THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION.         371 

but  in  the  place  of  superstition  it  has  nothing  to  sub- 
stitute. 

2d.  That  man  should  permanently  refrain  from  a  the- 
ological credence  is  out  of  the  question.  There  is  either 
nothing  whatever,  or  there  is  some  permanently  enduring 
something  that  was  anterior  to  man,  that  underlies  all 
the  operations  of  nature,  and  that  constructed,  and  con- 
tinues to  construct  all  the  varied  mechanisms,  physical 
and  mental,  with  which  man  is  acquainted ;  and  this 
permanent  element  which  man  posits,  in  accordance  with 
the  laws  of  his  reason,  is  what  is  meant  by  God.  God 
therefore  has  a  necessary  existence  to  the  human  mind; 
and  the  main  question  is — not,  Whether  there  is  an 
eternal  and  all-pervading  substance  and  power  ?  for  man 
cannot  conceive  that  there  is  not — but,  What  is  the  char- 
acter of  that  immortal  power  that  sustains  the  universe 
— what  in  fact  are  the  attributes  of  God  ? 

And  in  the  growth  of  these  attributes — that  is,  in  the 
addition  of  predicate  after  predicate  to  the  substantive 
idea — lies  the  process  by  which  a  natural  theology,  purely 
scientific,  must  ultimately  be  developed,  and  actually 
command  the  human  credence  in  the  same  manner  as  any 
other  truth. 

The  first  positing  of  the  theological  idea  is,  logically, 
universal  existence  in  space  and  immortal  existence  in 
time.  This  is  the  first  step  towards  a  scientific  theology 

look  the  fact,  that  ethics,  while  inquiring  what  is  true,  has  for  its  question 
'•  What  ought  to  be  done  ?  "  And  if,  from  the  natural  relations  of  man  to  man, 
there  arises  a  system  of  human  ethics  (or  rules  of  action),  so,  if  the  existence 
of  God  be  established  by  a  purely  scientific  method,  must  there  necessarily  rise 
a  system  of  theological  ethics,  establishing  in  general  terms  what  ought  to  be 
the  conduct  of  the  human  creature  in  reference  to  the  Divine  Creator.  This 
branch,  which  the  great  Dr.  Chalmers  expounded  under  the  name  of  "  ethics  of 
theology,"  we  have  termed  Dikaistic  (see  table  in  the  Appendix),  from  SUaios 
righteous ;  and  it  should  answer  the  question,  "  How  ought  man  to  act, 
rightly  or  righteously  ? "  It  is  plain,  however,  that  from  the  fall  of  man  dika- 
istic  cannot  satisfy,  but  only  direct,  in  general  terms,  to  the  fountain  of  divine 
satisfaction.  It  is  a  perfectly  valid  branch  of  knowledge,  but  altogether  inade- 
quate for  man's  fallen  necessities. 


372         THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION. 

purely  rational  and  objective ;  and  it  is  absolutely  neces- 
sary that  it  should  be  objective,  otherwise  we  abandon  the 
scientific  method,  and  launch  into  mysticism.  An  infinite 
and  immortal  substance  may  be  termed  that  portion  of 
natural  theology,  which  is  furnished  by  the  mathematical 
contemplation  of  the  universe.* 

The  universality  in  space  and  the  immortality  in  time 
being  posited,  the  general  groundwork  is  laid  for  the 
addition  of  predicates ;  and  these  must  be  derived  from 
the  world  of  material  function.  The  physical  sciences 
must  contribute  to  transform  the  abstraction  into  some- 
thing further  removed  from  negation. 

The  next  attribute  is  power.  And  this  addition  of 
power  very  possibly  produces  pantheism.  The  idea  has 
now  become  an  infinite  and  immortal  power.  And 
further  than  this,  no  physical  or  metaphysical  argument 
can  legitimately  extend.  Another  region  must  be  sur- 
veyed before  science  posits  indubitably  other  attributes 
which  shall  transform  the  power  into  intelligence ;  and 
thus  the  theology  of  nature  will  receive  a  new  extension. 
Physical  science,  as  such,  can  afford  nothing  but  an  all- 
pervading  power;  and  if  man  were  never  to  go  beyond 
the  physical  sciences,  the  scientific  world  would  remain 
(that  is,  without  revelation)  at  the  natural  theology  of 

*  Historically,  the  celebrated  argument  of  Samuel  Clark  comes  under  this 
head.  Another,  and  well-constructed  argument,  is  that  of  Moses  Lowman. 
Neither  of  these  arguments  is  pure  ;  both  authors  attempting  to  prove  more 
than  can  be  proven  by  their  method.  An  a  priori  argument  cannot  prove  a 
fact,  only  a  rational  necessity.  Geometry  does  not  prove  that  there  is  space  ; 
it  only  proves  what  the  relations  between  the  forms  of  space  must  be.  And  so 
an  a  priori  argument  in  reference  to  theology  cannot  prove  that  there  is  exist- 
ence, but  only  what  the  rational  necessities  of  the  forms  of  existence  must  be 
in  the  human  apprehension.  The  form  of  this  argument  may  be  concisely  ex- 
pressed as  follows  :— 

1.  Major.    If  there  be  existence  actual,  there  must  be  existence  necessary. 

2.  Minor.    There  is  existence  actual. 

3.  Conclusion.    There  is  existence  necessary. 

The  major  proposition  is  an  abstract  conviction  of  the  human  reason,  and  is 
a  priori:  and,  in  fact,  all  a  priori  propositions  should  be  announced  in  the 
hypothetical  form. 


THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION.         373 

pantheism ;  and  historically,  pantheism  is  now  succeed- 
ing the  Continental  scepticism. 

It  has  usually  been  supposed  that  the  contemplation  of 
what  is  called  design  in  the  works  of  creation,  proves  the 
existence  of  an  intelligent  designer.  This  argument  has 
been  so  commonly  advanced,  and  is  supposed  to  be  so 
perfectly  valid,  that  it  appears  almost  a  philosophical 
heresy  to  call  it  in  question.  Let  us  examine,  therefore, 
whether  this  argument,  as  hitherto  advanced,  is  really 
conclusive.  It  may,  perhaps,  be  necessary  to  observe  the 
fact,  that  this  argument  has  not  convinced  a  large  portion 
of  the  scientific  world;  and  if  there  be  nothing  more  con- 
clusive, it  is  evident  that  such  natural  theology,  taken 
alone,  has  failed. 

We  must  remind  the  reader  that  we  are  by  no  means 
engaged  in  an  attempt  to  prove  the  existence  of  God ;  but 
only  to  trace  the  mode  in  which  the  idea  of  God  arises 
necessarily  in  the  human  reason  as  actually  involved  in 
the  spectacle  of  nature,  thoroughly  understood;  and 
therefore  we  only  endeavor  to  estimate  how  much  is 
really  and  truly  furnished  by  one  method,  and  how 
much  is  furnished  by  another  method.  And  we  affirm 
that  neither  the  mathematical  nor  the  physical  contem- 
plation of  the  universe  can  legitimately  introduce  any 
term  into  the  conclusion  which  is  not  a  term  of  mathe- 

The  minor  is  derived  from  experience,  and  consequently  the  argument  is  not 
a  priori. 

To  extend  the  argument,  it  is  necessary  to  discover  what  the  characteristics 
of  the  existence  actual  really  are,  and  thereby  to  infer  by  a  reflex  process  the 
attributes  of  the  existence  necessary.  The  growth  of  the  theological  argument 
depends  on  the  qualification  and  quantification  of  the  actual  existence  known 
to  man ;  and  therefore  the  scheme  of  natural  theology  depends  on  the  ex- 
tension of  the  sciences.  But  then  again,  experience  cannot  discourse  of  infinite 
attributes,  and  reason  must  a  priori  determine  the  infinity  of  the  attributes, 
although  reason  could  not  possibly  determine  the  existence  of  the  attributes 
without  experience.  And  thus  reason  and  experience  gradually  and  system- 
atically construct  an  argument ;  reason  furnishing  the  metaphysic  of  necessity, 
and  experience  the  concrete  of  reality.  Reason  is  the  operation  of  weaving, 
and  experience  the  material  woven  ;  both  are  necessary  to  produce  the 
fabric. 


374         THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION. 

matics  or  a  term  of  physics,  except  those  general  terms 
of  metaphysic  which  are  anterior  to  both.  And  by 
general  terms  of  metaphysic  we  mean,  those  which 
express  abstractions  and  relations,  without  in  the  least 
affirming  whether  there  are  or  are  not  any  realities  which 
coincide  with  the  abstract  terms.  The  office  of  meta- 
physic is  to  furnish  abstract  categories  (substantial  and 
prepositional)  into  which  experience  must  locate  reali- 
ties ;  and  if  we  introduce  terms  which  are  neither 
abstract  nor  yet  furnished  by  physical  (sensational) 
experience,  we  have  an  illicit  process,  and  consequently 
an  inconclusive  argument.  And  though  the  argument  of 
design  is  satisfactory  to  those  who  are  already  believers 
(as  illustrative  of  the  Divine  wisdom),  we  must  remember 
that  a  great  difference  exists  between  an  exposition  of 
God's  wisdom,  and  a  proof  of  God's  existence  so  conclu- 
sive in  itself  that  it  commands  the  assent  of  intellect  as 
intellect. 

That  there  is  a  proof  of  God's  existence,  and  of  his 
power  and  wisdom,  so  perfectly  conclusive  that  it  shall 
command  the  assent  of  the  reason  of  mankind,  we  have 
no  possible  doubt;  but  that  such  an  argument  can  be 
drawn  from  physical  science  (further  than  power  is  con- 
cerned), we  by  no  means  admit ;  inasmuch  as  the  term 
intelligence,  necessary  to  substantiate  the  personality  of 
God,  belongs  neither  to  metaphysic,  nor  to  mathematics, 
nor  to  physics. 

All  metaphysical  dogmas  must  confine  themselves  to 
abstract  terms,  abstract  divisions,  and  abstract  relations. 
Such  are  the  following  : — 

Existence,  non-existence,  necessity,  contingency,  crea- 
tion, created,  substance,  attribute,  cause,  effect,  condition, 
change,  etc.  And  whenever  these  terms  are  used  con- 
cretely, and  not  abstractly,  w«  have  left  the  realm  of 
metaphysic.  This  metaphysic  underlies  all  human 
knowledge  whatever,  and  is  in  reality  nothing  more  than 


THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION.        375 

the  necessary  form  of  thought.  Into  this  necessary  form 
of  thought  the  mathematical  substantives — identity, 
equality,  number,  quantity,  space,  and  force,  are  located, 
and  the  mathematical  sciences  arise.  And  again,  into 
the  blank  categories  of  the  mathematical  propositions  the 
facts  of  sensation  are  located,  and  the  physical  sciences 
arise.  But  as  the  physical  sciences  do  not  involve 
objective  intelligence,  but  only  the  objective  conditions 
and  functions  of  matter,  it  is  plainly  evident  that  a  con- 
clusion which  involves  intelligence  can  never  be  drawn 
from  the  bare  contemplation  of  matter ;  and  that,  there- 
fore, there  must  first  be  the  contemplation  of  mind,  and 
the  discovery  of  the  laws  of  mind,  before  we  can  posit 
legitimately  the  intelligence  of  that  power  which  pan- 
theistic physics  posits  as  universal. 

The  argument  that  there  is  design  in  the  works 
of  nature  is,  properly  speaking,  not  physical,  but  physico- 
psychological ;  and  the  bridge  that  connects  the  all-per- 
vading power  with  mind-  is  as  follows  : — 

In  the  works  of  nature,  and  the  operations  of  nature, 
man  intuitively  perceives  by  his  reason  a  power  of  force ; 
and  the  primordial  force,  if  we  make  nothing  objective 
but  matter,  necessarily  lands  us  in  pantheism,  which  is 
at  present  the  theological  credence  of  a  large  portion  of 
the  scientific  men  on  the  Continent.  And  out  of  this 
pantheism  there  is  no  scientific  exit  until  mind  is  made 
objective,  and  the  facts  of  mind  are  brought  to  bear  on 
the  facts  of  physics ;  so  that  what  was  before  only  a 
primordial  force  becomes  an  intelligent  agent,  of  whom 
power  is  the  attribute. 

In  the  world  of  matter,  two  phenomena  are  apparent. 
First,  the  performance  of  a  function.  This  supplies  the 
material  from  which  man  intuitively  posits  power  or 
force.  Second,  The  adaptation  of  the  physical  conditions 
of  matter  for  the  achievement  of  certain  ends.  This  is 
the  portion  that  has  been  called  design ;  but  as  design 


376         THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION. 

implies  a  designer,  the  term  is  illegitimate  until  it  has 
been  determined  what  a  designer  is,  and  what  the  term 
design  is  really  employed  to  signify.  If  we  assume  a 
designer  because  there  is  design,  we  have  assumed  only 
a  truism ;  but  we  have  forgotten  to  establish  the  most 
essential  proposition,  namely,  that  the  adaptation  of  means 
to  an  end  is  design.  Every  merely  physical  argument  to 
prove  the  intelligence  of  the  primordial  force  will  split 
on  this  rock ;  and  it  is  absolutely  necessary,  therefore,  for 
man  to  progress  beyond  matter-science  before  natural 
theology  can  be  other  than  pantheism.  Pantheism  is  the 
theology  of  physical  science  ;  and  if  there  were  no  other 
science  beyond  physical  science,  pantheism  would  be  the 
last  final  form  of  scientific  credence. 

Let  us,  however,  still  bearing  in  mind  the  division  of 
the  sciences  into — 

The  mathematical  sciences  (or  notion  sciences), 

The  matter  sciences, 

The  man  sciences, 

Let  us  ask  how  the  primordial  force  of  pantheism  is 
legitimately  transformed  into  an  attribute  of  an  intelli- 
gence ? 

Let  a  designer  stand  for  an  intelligence  who  is  possessed 
of  power,  and  who  intentionally  adapts  means  to  an  end. 

Design,  therefore,  will  stand  for  intentional  adaptation ; 
and  from  the  contemplation  of  man  we  are  enabled  to 
make  the  above  definitions  without  transcending  the 
realm  of  experience.  When  we  have  made  man  objective, 
we  can  affirm,  "  man  can  design ; "  and  when  we  contem- 
plate the  product  of  man's  design,  we  find  it  expressed  in 
the  terms,  "  adaptation  of  means  to  an  end,"  where  neither 
of  the  terms  are  psychological,  but  such  as  are  used  legit- 
imately in  physical  science.  And  when,  on  the  other 
hand,  we  find  in  nature  the  adaptation  of  means  to  an 
end,  we  infer  design  and  designer,  because  the  only  cir- 
cumstances within  our  experience  in  which  we  can  trace 


THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION.         377 

the  origin  of  adaptation,  are  those  in  which  human  mind 
is  implicated.* 

And  thus  what  was  at  first  an  omnipresent  and  immor- 
tal substance,  and  afterwards  an  omnipresent  and  immor- 
tal power,  becomes  transformed  into  an  omnipresent  and 
immortal  intelligence.  And  this  growth  of  the  theological 
idea  is  borne  out  by  the  chronological  fact,  first,  Spinoza, 
Clarke,  Lowman,  etc.,  then  Paley,  Chalmers,  and  the 
Bridgewater  treatises. 

But  an  intelligent  and  all-pervading  mind,  although  pos- 
sessed of  even  infinite  power  and  infinite  wisdom,  is  still 
insufficient.  There  are  facts  in  nature  which  power  taken 
as  power,  and  wisdom  taken  as  wisdom,  will  not  account 
for.  Not  only  is  man,  when  made  objective,  found  to  be 
possessed  of  an  intellectual  capacity  which  enables  him  to 
design,  and  of  a  power  which  enables  him  to  execute,  but 
also  of  a  moral  nature  which  lays  on  him  the  imperative 
obligation  of  designing  certain  ends,  and  of  refraining 
from  designing  certain  other  ends.  And  as  man  is  as 
much  a  portion  of  nature  as  is  matter,  we  must  have 
a  productive  power  of  such  a  character  as  would  account 
for  this  moral  nature  of  man,  and  to  have  this  we  must 
have  the  transformation  of  mere  natural  theology  into 


*  The  word  design,  like  hundreds  of  other  words,  is  subject  to  an  ambiguity 
of  so  common  a  character,  that  it  is  apt  to  be  overlooked.  In  one  sense  it  is 
used  subjectively,  in  another  sense  it  is  used  objectively.  In  its  subjective 
sense  it  means  a  mode  of  action,  in  its  objective  sense  it  means  a  product  of 
action ;  and  when  man  observes  the  character  of  the  product  resulting  from 
his  own  mode  of  action,  and  recognises  in  the  objective  universe  products  of 
an  analogous  character,  he  transforms  the  objective  idea  of  those  products 
into  a  subjective  form.  And  this  transformation  of  the  objective  into  the  sub- 
jective, is  in  fact  the  whole  secret  of  the  progression  of  science.  When  the 
mathematical  sciences  are  studied,  they  are  objective ;  but  when  they  are 
used  they  are  transformed  into  the  subjective  form,  and  become  powers  of 
operation.  Every  science,  when  its  laws  are  discovered,  becomes  thus  trans- 
formed into  a  subjective  power  of  operation— that  is,  into  an  art ;  exactly  as  a 
proposition  in  any  one  science  is  first  considered  objectively  as  to  its  truth  or 
falsity,  and  afterwards  used  subjectively  for  the  purpose  of  determining  the 
truth  or  falsity  of  a  subsequent  proposition.  This  metamorphosis  is  one  of  the 
most  beautiful  considerations  in  the  whole  realm  of  reasoning. 


378         THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION. 

moral  theology.  And  although  this  moral  theology  is  not 
yet  universally  admitted  by  men  of  science,  it  follows  so 
plainly  and  evidently  from  the  preceding  method  that  it 
cannot  fail  to  evolve. 

Let  us  then  re-investigate  the  process  according  to 
which  a  purely  scientific  natural  theology  must  grow. 
Natural  theology  is  strictly  a  science ;  and  this  science 
must  be  classed  as  the  last  and  highest  of  the  direct 
sciences.  In  so  far  as  it  is  an  intellectual  dogma,  only 
discoursing  of  truth,  it  is  a  direct  science,  quite  as  much 
so  as  dynamics,  which  treats  of  the  laws  of  force,  except 
only  that  dynamics  treats  of  the  laws  of  mechanical 
force,  and  thereby  explains  logically  (that  is,  in  three 
propositions,  one  of  which  follows  as  the  conclusion  of 
the  other  two)  the  mechanical  functions  of  matter;  while 
theology  must  furnish  such  a  major  power  as  shall  account 
for  all  the  cognizable  phenomena  within  the  reach  of 
human  cognition.  And  thus  exactly  as  man's  knowledge 
of  the  universe,  both  material  and  mental,  grows  and 
expands  in  the  form  of  science,  so  must  the  idea  of  God 
grow  and  expand  also,  until  the  whole  of  the  possible 
sciences  are  completed,  and  man  comes  to  the  universal 
application  of  truth. 

We  have  then  to  glance  once  more  at  the  order  of 
human  knowledge,  and  here  we  must  remark  on  the 
groundwork  of  the  mathematical  sciences. 

In  the  mathematical  sciences  the  object-noun  is  an 
abstraction.  Number,  quantity  and  space  are  abstrac- 
tions. 

These  abstractions  are  divided  into  forms  or  partial 
numbers,  partial  quantities,  and  partial  spaces. 

And  these  forms  are  made  to  function  by  the  applica- 
tion of  the  subjective  axioms  of  the  reason.  These  subject- 
ive axioms  are  taken  for  granted  as  true,  anteriorly  to 
any  consideration  of  the  actual  matter  of  the  mathematical 
sciences. 


THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION.        379 

But  these  subjective  axioms,  or  universal  and  purely 
abstract  propositions,  when  considered  as  objective,  belong 
to  the  region  of  metaphysic,  and  therefore  metaphysic  is 
the  groundwork  of  all  scientific  knowledge.  And  meta- 
physic furnishes  to  mathematic  the  synthetic  propositions 
purely  a  priori  and  perfectly  abstract,  which  enable  the 
substantives  of  mathematic  to  function.  That  is,  in  fact, 
the  substantives  of  mathematic  are  located  in  the  blank 
propositions  of  metaphysic,  and  the  mathematical  sciences 
are  produced  ;  in  the  same  manner  as  the  facts  of  sensa- 
tional observation  are  afterwards  located  in  the  proposi- 
tions of  mathematic  (that  is,  of  number,  quantity,  space, 
and  force),  and  the  physical  sciences,  properly  so  called, 
are  produced. 

The  order  of  human    knowledge,  therefore,  is  logi- 
cally : — 
Metaphysics,  which  furnishes   the   abstraction  and  the 

axiom  to  mathematics. 
Mathematics,  which  furnishes  the  computing  power   to 

physics. 
Physics,  which  furnishes  the  correct  rule  of  the  arts  to 

political  economy. 
Political  economy,  which  furnishes  the  correct  mode  of 

action  to  politics. 

Politics,  which  furnishes  the  correct  mode  of  action  to 
theology.*  [Politics,  the  science  of  equity,  deter- 
mines what  is  just;  and  theology  brings  the  just 
into  operation.] 

Theology,  which  furnishes  the  ultimate  rule  of  action  for 
mankind,  and  leads  his  hopes  towards  immor- 
tality. 

*  It  must  be  remembered  that  theology  would  not  be  of  practical  avail  unless 
man  were  a  moral  being— that  is,  an  accountable  being.  The  existence  of  a 
great  First  Cause  might  be  substantiated  by  valid  evidence ;  but  to  make 
man  accountable  to  the  First  Cause  requires  a  separate  process  of  proof,  and 
this  proof  is  found  in  the  moral  nature  of  man ;  and  the  moral  nature  of 
man  is  indubitably  substantiated  the  moment  moral  science  is  achieved.  So 


380         THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION. 

These  are  the  direct  sciences  which  are  objective ;  and 
this  is  not  only  the  order  in  which  they  must  be  classed, 
but  the  order  in  which  they  must  necessarily  be  evolved 
in  the  history  of  human  evolution. 

If  we  take  the  sciences  in  this  order,  it  is  plain  that 
science  reads  the  universe  backwards,  beginning  at  the 
most  ultimate  abstractions,  and  gradually  becoming  more 
and  more  real,  more  and  more  directly  applicable  to  the 
great  requirements  of  the  moral  man.  And  if  we  con- 
sider science  to  be  "  the  universe  seen  by  the  reason  and 
not  merely  by  the  senses ; "  we  see  that  this  inverse  order 
is  absolutely  necessary,  because  the  reason  must  master 
the  most  universal  forms  first,  and  afterwards  those  that 
are  more  special  in  their  order.  But  while  metaphysic, 
and  next  to  it  mathematic,  is  the  genus  of  science  which 
presents  the  greatest  possible  extension,  it  is  that  which 
presents  the  least  possible  comprehension ;  and  on  the 
contrary,  natural  theology,  considered  as  a  mode  of 
thought,  presents  the  greatest  possible  comprehension, 
really  involving  all  the  other  sciences  whatever. 

And  this  being  the  case,  natural  theology  grows  (in  the 
mind  of  man)  exactly  as  the  anterior  sciences  are  per- 
fected ;  and  thus  the  final  ultimatum  of  all  scientific 
cognition,  when  perfected  in  its  whole  sphere,  is  the  teach- 
ing of  natural  theology.  And  on  this  account  it  is,  that 
the  prevalent  natural  theology,  wherever  it  is  scientific, 
will  always  assume  the  form  of  those  sciences  which  have 
been  last  laid  open  to  the  intellect.  So  that  it  need  ex- 
cite no  surprise,  that  at  one  period  of  man's  evolution  we 

that  moral  science  furnishes  to  speculative  theology  its  moral  element ;  and  - 
though  politics  confines  itself  to  the  minor  question  of  man's  aecountability  to 
man,  it  transmits  to  speculative  theology  the  incomparably  greater  proposi- 
tion, that  man  must  also  be  accountable  to  God,  which  proposition  a  merely 
speculative  theology  could  not  prove,  as  it  confines  itself  to  the  question  of 
God's  existence.  The  Divine  attributes  could  not  be  proven  in  their  moral 
form,  unless  man  be  first  admitted  to  be  a  moral  being.  Hence  the  advantage 
of  a  system  of  natural  morals,  which,  if  once  substantiated,  must  forever  up- 
root the  argumentations  of  the  sceptic. 


THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION.         381 

should  see  the  metaphysical  attributes  developed  ;  at  a 
subsequent  period,  the  mathematical  attributes ;  at  a 
subsequent  period,  the  physical  attributes  (power,  etc.) ; 
at  a  still  later  period,  the  intellectual  attributes ;  and 
finally,  the  moral  attributes.  But  this  progressive  de- 
velopment is  nothing  more  than  the  progressive  develop- 
ment of  man's  knowledge — the  Divine  Reality  remaining 
always  the  same,  however  darkened  or  however  enlight- 
ened man  may  be ;  so  that  at  the  last,  natural  reason,  by 
a  purely  scientific  process,  will  have  seen  in  the  universe 
not  an  aggregate  of  functioning  matter,  nor  a  panthe- 
istic power,  nor  a  mere  intelligence  possessed  of  power, 
but  an  Infinite  Creator,  infinite  in  his  moral  attributes 
— that  is,  infinitely  holy — to  whom  the  whole  human  race 
is  accountable  for  every  thought,  and  every  word,  and 
every  action. 

And  thus  natural  theology,  opening  up  to  the  reason  of 
mankind,  one  after  another,  the  attributes  of  God,  will  at 
last  land  the  race  on  the  very  threshold  of  divine  reve- 
lation, which  alone  can  solve  the  moral  difficulty  of  a 
reason,  which  points  infallibly  in  one  direction,  and  a 
fallen  nature,  which  tends  infallibly  in  another.  When 
political  economy  shall  have  done  her  work  on  earth,  and 
taught  men  how  to  evolve  the  maximum  of  material  good, 
and  when  equity  shall  have  taught  men  to  construct 
society  in  accordance  with  the  principles  of  justice,  the 
reason  of  mankind  will  still  go  onward,  and  the  higher 
and  nobler  good,  the  aspiration  after  immortality,  will 
still  beckon  on  humanity ;  and  earth,  transformed  by 
truth,  harmoniously  reverberating  from  nature  to  reason, 
and  from  reason  to  revelation,  shall  at  last  rejoice  in  the 
universal  knowledge  of  Him  whose  kingdom  is  everlast- 
ing. 

Let  us  then  concisely  review  the  growth  of  the  theo- 
logical idea,  and  examine  how  much  each  genus  of  science 
contributes. 


382         THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION. 

All  science  is  the  knowledge  of  Being,  and  each  par- 
ticular science  discourses  of  the  mode  of  being,  or  of  the 
manifestation  of  being. 

1.  Metaphysic.    Posits  the  universal  mode  in  which  the 

human  mind  views  being.  Its  con- 
tribution to  theology  is  the  division  of 
being  into  necessary  and  contingent, 
substance  and  attribute,  cause  and  effect, 
etc. 

2.  Mathematic.    Introduces    space  and  quantity.      The 

idea  now  becomes  a  substance  having 
no  limits  in  space.  (Infinity.) 

3.  Dynamic.        Introduces  power.    And  as  space  is  the 

static  condition  of  the  universe,  so  time 
is  the  dynamic  condition.  The  idea  be- 
comes non-limited  in  time  (immortal); 
and  the  substance  is  a  power  without 
limits  in  time  or  space. 

4.  Physic.  Introduces   construction,  or  the   adapta- 

tion of  condition  to  the  achievement  of 
an  end.  The  power  now  becomes  an  in- 
finite constructive  power.  (Pantheism.) 

5.  Economic.       Introduces  intentional  design  in  construc- 

tion. The  idea  now  becomes  an  intelli- 
gence, infinitely  powerful  and  infinitely 
wise. 

6.  Politic.  Introduces  justice.     That  is,  treats  not 

of  the  mode  of  producing  an  end,  but  of 
the  end  that  ought  to  be  produced.  The 
intelligence  now  becomes  a  God  of  in- 
finite justice. 

Such  is  the  direct  mode  in  which  natural  theology  is 
produced ;  but  it  is  plainly  evident  that  if  man  were  to 
stay  here,  he  has  nothing  whereon  to  ground  his  hopes.  A 
God  of  infinite  justice,  no  man  who  ever  lived  on  earth 
would  or  could  desire  to  stand  before.  Justice  is  exactly 


THE  THEORY  OF  II  I'M  AX  PROGRESSION.        383 

that  attribute,  which,  while  it  clothes  God  with  righteous 
majesty,  fills  man  with  reasonable  terror.  Man  is  not 
only  an  intelligence  who  comprehends,  but  a  voluntary 
agent  who  acts ;  and  no  man  who  ever  lived  would  desire 
that  his  actions  should  be  weighed  in  the  balances  of 
justice,  and  that  he  himself  should  abide  by  the  award. 
Between  the  dictates  of  man's  reason  and  the  history  of 
his  actions  there  is  a  discrepancy.  Man,  in  fact,  is  a  fallen 
being ;  and  science,  while  it  enlightens  him,  cannot  oblit- 
erate his  crimes.  Natural  theology,  then,  while  it  solves 
the  mystery  of  the  natural  universe,  can  never  solve  the 
mystery  of  the  moral  universe.  It  may  establish  man's 
responsibility,  but  in  so  doing  it  as  indubitably  establishes 
his  criminality ;  and  thus  when  natural  theology  shall 
have  achieved  its  highest  point,  and  blazoned  forth  the 
moral  attributes  of  God,  it  will,  at  the  same  time,  have 
heralded  man's  condemnation,  and  pronounced  irrevocable 
judgment  on  the  race. 

And  thus  the  final  destiny  of  natural  theology  (which 
really  comprehends  all  science  *)  is  only  to  lead  man  at 
last  to  the  Divine  message  of  mercy — to  the  glad  tid- 
ings of  forgiveness  and  reconciliation.  And  thus,  also,  as 
the  sciences  evolve  chronologically  in  the  same  order  that 
they  are  logically  classified,  the  ultimate  end  of  human 
study,  and  of  all  man's  intellectual  achievements,  is  only 
at  last  to  prove  beyond  a  doubt  the  absolute  necessity 
both  of  a  revelation  and  of  a  means  of  redemption,  of 
which  God  is  the  author.  And  therefore,  as  we  have 


*  Man,  in  evolving  the  sciences,  reads  the  universe  backwards,  and  termi- 
nates at  natural  theology.  Thus,  natural  theology  is,  in  the  first  place,  or  in  the 
process  of  its  formation,  an  inference.  But  when  the  sciences  are  completed, 
and  man  reverses  the  order  of  knowledge  to  make  it  correlative  with  the  order 
of  reality,  all  the  operations  of  nature,  instead  of  being  viewed  as  the  proofs  of 
God's  existence,  are  viewed  as  the  operations  of  the  Divine  power  and  wisdom. 
And  thus,  though  all  knowledge  may  be  viewed  as  leading  to  God,  all  reality 
(save  the  moral  determinations  of  voluntary  agents)  must  be  viewed  as  flowing 
from  God  ;  so  that  a  knowledge  of  God  and  of  the  Divine  operations  would 
really  comprehend  all  science  whatever. 


384         THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION. 

pursued  exactly  the  same  method  in  evolving  the  sciences 
to  come  which  explains  the  evolution  of  those  already 
ordinated,  there  is  a  natural  ground  for  anticipating  not 
only  a  millennium  of  justice,  in  which  all  man's  political 
arrangements  shall  be  made  in  accordance  with  the  dic- 
tates of  enlightened  equity,  but  beyond  that  period  a  mil- 
lennium of  Christianity,  when  the  burdened  heart  of  hu- 
manity shall  return  to  the  true  waters  of  life,  and  drink 
from  the  immortal  streams  of  Truth. 

Having  thus  endeavored,  in  a  concise  manner,  to  exhibit 
the  mode  in  which  natural  theology  must  necessarily  be 
evolved,  both  logically  in  the  reason  and  chronologically 
in  the  history  of  mankind,  we  may  attempt  to  estimate 
the  present  position  of  natural  theology,  and  to  account 
for  its  present  unsatisfactory  character. 

1st.  Revelation  is  given  to  guide  man  correctly,  under 
all  circumstances  of  his  scientific  knowledge.  If  man  be 
ignorant  of  science,  revelation  is  in  itself  the  divine  record 
of  that  truth  which  it  behoves  man  the  most  to  know. 
Revelation  solves  the  moral  mystery  of  the  universe,  and 
points  out  to  man  the  one  thing  needful — namely,  how 
man  can  attain  to  an  immortality  of  purified  soul  and 
blissful  existence.  And  let  science  progress  as  it  may — 
let  man's  knowledge  become  as  extensive  and  as  accurate 
as  it  ever  could  by  any  possibility — revelation  is  still  and 
always  supreme,  always  infinitely  greater  than  any  possible 
increment  of  natural  knowledge.  Revelation  has  an  abso- 
lute and  infinite  truth  for  the  most  ignorant,  and  it  has 
also  an  absolute  and  infinite  truth  for  the  most  enlight- 
ened. 

2d.  Between  natural  theology,  which  is  purely  scientific' 
(that  is,  such  as  would  have  arisen  had  there  never  been  a 
revelation,  and  consequently  no  traditional  idea  of  Deity), 
and  such  natural  theology  as  first  takes  its  major  propo- 
sitions from  Scripture,  and  then  proceeds  to  illustrate 
them  from  nature ;  there  is  of  course  a  difference  so  great, 


THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION.        385 

that  the  two,  although  passing  under  the  same  name,  are 
not  even  comparable.  Natural  theology  is  as  different  in 
its  method  from  scriptural  physics,  or  scriptural  meta- 
physics, or  scriptural  morals,  as  is  geology  from  the  script- 
ural account  of  the  creation.  The  two  can  never  be  legiti- 
mately compared  until  the  natural  science  is  completed, 
exactly  as  theology  can  never  be  legitimately  compared 
with  Scripture  until  men  of  science  have  agreed  what 
geology  actually  does  teach.* 

3d.  Natural  theology,  purely  scientific,  is  an  attempt  to 
solve  the  mystery  of  the  universe  by  the  natural  powers 
of  the  human  intellect.  It  is,  therefore,  an  attempt  to 
posit  such  a  major  as  should  account  to  the  reason  for  the 
whole  facts  of  cognition.  And  consequently  every  realm, 
and  every  branch  of  cognition,  does  necessarily  bring  its 
contribution  to  natural  theology.  It  is  true  that  any 
branch  of  cognition  may  be  considered  in  its  separate 
isolation,  and  investigated  in  its  internal  detail  alone ;  but 
as  all  branches  of  cognition  actually  do  meet  in  the  one 
Universe  with  which  man  is  acquainted,  "  What  is  the 
one  major  substance  of  that  universe  that  makes  matter 
to  be ;  and  the  one  major  power  of  that  universe  that 
makes  matter  to  function  ;  and  the  one  major  intelligence 
that  makes  mind  to  be ;  and  the  one  major  Moral  Ruler, 
who  makes  mind  to  function  towards  a  definite  end  ?" 

Had  the  universe  been  a  blank  space,  and  man  only  a 
disembodied  reason  capable  of  contemplating  that  space, 
but  incapable  of  making  himself  and  his  own  mental 
operations  objective,  he  would  only  have  posited  an  infinite 
and  invisible  space.  Had  he  been  presented  with  such 
a  physical  universe  as  really  exists  only  at  rest,  but  still 
been  disembodied  and  capable  only  of  contemplating 
the  material  world  existing  in  space,  he  would  have 
posited  substance,  quality,  and  condition,  and  drawn  the 

*  At  the  same  time,  an  objection  from  one  science  may  be  fairly  met  and 
triumphantly  overthrown  by  an  argument  from  the  same  science, 

25 


386         THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION. 

line  of  distinction  between  the  infinite  substance  and  the 
finite  manifestation. 

Had  the  physical  universe  begun  to  function  (move),  he 
would  have  posited  power ;  and  had  the  functions  been 
regular,  or  apparently  in  accordance  with  the  relative 
conditions  of  the  various  portions  of  matter,  he  would 
have  posited  constructivity  as  well  as  productivity. 

And  if  he  were  then  endowed  with  a  body,  and  with 
the  power  of  reflection  on  his  own  existence  and  his  own 
operations,  he  would  have  posited  a  mental  power  and 
mental  construction.  And  if  he  found  within  his  intel- 
lectual nature  a  reason  for  acting  in  one  direction  rather 
than  another,  and  a  conscience  which  laid  on  him  the  duty 
of  obeying  his  reason  rather  than  his  passions,  he  would 
posit  a  moral  intelligence  with  all  the  preceding  attributes. 
But  then  it  must  be  remembered,  that  if  in  his  ignorance 
he  failed  at  first  to  apprehend  the  unity  of  design  presented 
by  the  actual  construction  of  the  physical  universe,  he 
would  posit  as  many  different  powers  as  there  appeared 
to  be  different  qualities  of  forces,  and  would  endeavor  to 
unite  these  secondary  powers  in  some  higher  unity,  so  as 
still  to  make  the  facts  of  experience  coincide  with  the 
dogmas  of  his  reason.  And  thus,  though  he  would  posit 
power  in  the  general,  he  would  require  to  elaborate  the 
sciences  of  the  powers  of  nature  before  he  was  in  a  con- 
dition to  speak  of  the  character  of  the  major  power.* 
And  so  with  morals.  Man  may,  it  is  true,  posit  a  moral 
deity  in  the  general, f  and  speak  of  punishments  and 
rewards  (instead  of  mere  occurrences) ;  but  what  he  never 
can  determine,  until  he  has  admitted  the  first  proposi- 

*  "A  considerable  portion  of  the  qualitative  properties  of  matter — or.  to 
speak  more  in  accordance  with  the  language  of  natural  philosophy,  of  the 
qualitative  expression  of  forces — is  doubtless  still  unknown  to  us :  and  the  at- 
tempt perfectly  to  represent  unity  in  diversity,  must  therefore  necessarily 
prove  unsuccessful."— Huinboldt's  Cosmos,  chap.  i.  63. 

t  It  must  be  distinctly  remembered  throughout  this  argument,  that  those 
who  do  admit  man  to  be  a  moral  being,  have  all  the  elements  of  a  genuine 
natural  theology,  and  are  imperatively  bound  by  its  conclusions. 


THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION.         387 

tions  of  moral  science,  is  the  character  of  the  Moral  Ruler 
of  the  universe.  This  character  may  be  taken  from  reve- 
lation, or  it  may  be  assumed ;  but  proven,  in  the  same 
manner  as  any  other  portion  of  science,  it  never  can  be,  till 
moral  science  is  actually  achieved  and  taught  as  a  branch 
of  knowledge.  If,  then,  moral  science  has  not  yet  been 
evolved,  but  is  only  in  course  of  preparation  through  the 
evolution  of  political  economy,  it  is  plainly  evident  that 
all  speculations  as  to  the  moral  character  of  the  Deity 
are  not  to  be  ranked  as  natural  theology.* 

If  natural  theology  be  an  inference  from  the  whole 
realm  of  knowledge,  it  is  plain  that  if  a  portion  of  that 
realm,  and  this  the  most  important  portion,  has  not  yet 
been  accurately  surveyed,  natural  Theology  must  neces- 
sarily be  incomplete ;  and  as  it  is  plainly  apparent  that 
moral  science  has  not  yet  been  reduced  to  ordination,  nor 
can  be  so  reduced  till  political  economy  is  developed  as  a 
teachable  branch  of  knowledge,  it  is  also  plain  that  moral 

*  We  speak,  of  course,  not  of  such  natural  theology  as  Is  elaborated  by  the 
Christian,  who  has  the  problem  of  the  universe  solved  for  him  by  revelation  ; 
but  of  such  natural  theology  as  should  convince  the  world  in  the  same  manner 
as  a  correct  system  of  astronomy  convinces  the  world.  When  the  fact  of  God's 
moral  existence  is  made  perfectly  indubitable  to  the  Christian  through  revela- 
tion, he  can  easily  corroborate  his  belief  by  perceiving  the  marks  of  the  divine 
hand  in  all  the  works  of  nature.  But  it  must  be  remembered  that  the  very 
question  of  natural  theology  is  this  very  fact ;  and  if  the  fact  is  really  involved 
in  the  phenomena  of  nature  (as  no  doubt  it  is),  the  scientific  world  may  ulti- 
mately find  itself  absolutely  obliged  to  admit  the  fact,  and  the  sceptic  will  be 
regarded  in  much  the  same  light  as  one  who  should  deny  the  Newtonian  theory 
of  planetary  arrangement.  But  for  this  natural  theology,  moral  science  is  ab- 
solutely requisite.  The  French  philosophers  of  the  last  century  denied  that 
man  was  a  moral  being,  and  the  English  sensationalists  of  the  present  day 
maintain  the  same  proposition.  And  if  the  proposition  were  true,  moral  the- 
ology would  be  not  only  impossible,  but  absolutely  unintelligible. 

But  if  moral  science  were  once  made  (and  it  can  be  made  if  man  be  a  moral 
being),  such  a  proposition  would  be  universally  rejected  as  untenable  ;  and  it 
would  become  a  matter  of  indubitable  truth,  not  only  that  man  was  an  accoun- 
table being,  but  that  there  must  necessarily  be  a  Great  Moral  Being  to  whom 
humanity  is  to  render  account.  And  as  this  truth  is  involved  in  man's  rational 
contemplation  of  the  universe,  the  whole  world,  if  it  continue  to  progress  in 
knowledge,  must  necessarily  come  to  it  at  some  period  or  other.  But  this 
natural  theology  cannot  evolve  for  the  world,  until  moral  science  has  been  so 
perfected  as  to  be  beyond  the  reach  of  question. 


388         THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION. 

theology,  which  depends  on  moral  science,  is  still  incapa- 
ble of  assuming  a  scientific  form. 

And  this  we  imagine  to  be  the  present  position  of  science 
and  natural  theology.  Natural  theology,  at  present,  is  little 
more  than  constructive  pantheism — the  universal  preva- 
lence of  a  power  that  constructs  and  operates  being  in  fact 
the  theology  of  the  scientific  world.  Nor,  unless  the  scien- 
tific world  accepts  revelation,  can  natural  theology  assume 
a  higher  character  until  moral  science  be  achieved,  and 
then  moral  theology  must  follow.  If  it  still  be  a  matter 
of  dispute  among  men  of  science,  whether  man  be  a  moral 
being  or  only  a  politico-economical  being,  it  is  perfectly 
evident  that  science  has  no  groundwork  for  the  establish- 
ment of  a  moral  universe ;  and  if  the  universe  within  the 
range  of  cognition  be  assumed  non-moral,  there  can  be  no 
reason  for  substantiating  a  moral  cause  as  the  originator 
and  director  of  the  universe.  Nor  are  we  to  admit  mere 
assumptions,  and  presumptions,  and  speculations,  as 
science  in  the  world  of  morals  any  more  than  in  the  world 
of  matter.  Either  it  is  true  that  a  definite  rule  of  moral 
action  can  be  discovered  by  the  reason,  or  it  follows  of 
course  that  rules  of  action  are  not  naturally  imperative  ; 
and  if  they  be  not  naturally  imperative  it  can  only  be  a 
superstition  to  consider  them  as  obligatory.  So  that  the 
possibility  of  moral  science  must  be  granted,  or  else  we 
must  grant  the  non-imperative  nature  of  all  moral  rules 
whatever;  for  certainly  the  logical  destruction  of  natural 
morals  would  entail  the  destruction,  not  only  of  all  actual 
revelation,  but  of  all  possible  revelation.  If  there  be  no 
natural  reason  which  lays  on  man  an  imperative  obliga- 
tion to  act  rightly,  there  can  be  no  reason  for  acting  in 
accordance  with  a  divine  rule  which  specifies  the  items 
of  which  that  rightly  consists ;  and  as  revelation  does  not 
reveal  man's  moral  nature,  but  only  his  moral  condition, 
and  the  mode  by  which  that  condition  can  be  amended,  it 
is  plain  that  if  man's  moral  nature  be  rejected  (as  it  really 


THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION.         389 

is  by  the  sensationalist),  the  revelation  is  incapable  of 
reaching  him,  and  must  ever  remain  unintelligible  to 
him. 

But  then,  on  the  other  hand,  sensationalism  is  only 
a  partial  view  of  the  phenomenon.  Sensationalism  con- 
siders not  man,  but  the  product  of  man's  action ;  it 
treats  not  of  mind  but  of  the  conditions  of  matter ;  and 
as  the  universal  consciousness  of  humanity  is  against  a 
mere  material  contemplation  of  the  universe,  inasmuch 
as  each  man  finds  himself  capable  of  acting,  and  of 
understanding  reasons  for  acting  in  one  mode  rather  than 
another,  sensationalism  must  be  viewed  only  as  the 
philosophy  of  the  world  physical.  And  as  the  world 
physical  is  only  the  unintelligent  object,  sensationalism 
is  only  the  philosophy  of  the  unintelligent  object ;  whereas 
the  intelligent  subject  (man)  offers  an  entirely  new 
region  of  investigation,  and  superadds  various  qualitative 
predicates,  which  extend  knowledge  into  an  entirely 
different  sphere,  and  consequently  transform  sensational- 
ism first  into  intellectualism,  and  ultimately  into  moralism. 

The  physical  world  when  considered  objectively  and 
exclusively  (as  it  is  in  physical  science),  does  not  present 
within  the  field  of  contemplation  the  operation  of  mind. 
For  this  we  must  turn  to  man,  and  having  evolved  the 
the  laws  of  physical  operation,  the  laws  of  man's  operation 
fall  next  to  be  considered.  And  human  action  falls  to  be 
considered  logically  in  the  following  order  : — 

1.  Action  upon  the   material   world,    for    the    direct 
purpose  of  producing  an  effect  upon  the  material  world. 
This  involves  the  laws  of  the  arts,  which  laws  are  drawn 
from  the  physical  sciences. 

2.  Action  upon  the  material  world,  for  the  purpose 
of    producing    an  effect    on  man.      This  involves   the 
laws  of  political  economy,  which  laws  are  drawn  from 
an  induction  of  observed  facts  as  to  what  effects  have 
been  ascertained  to  follow  certain  modes  of  action. 


390         THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION, 

3.  Action  upon  man  without  forcible  interference,  for 
the   purpose    of   producing   an    effect    on    man.     This, 
involves  the  laws  of  social  action,  but  only  such  social 
action  as  does   not  involve  constraint    or    interference 
against  the  will  of  the  party  operated  upon. 

4.  Action  upon  man  by  interference  or  forcible  control. 
This  involves  the  laws  of  justice. 

Such  are  the  modes  of  human  action,  and  the  laws  of 
these  modes  must  be  evolved  in  this  order.  First,  the 
arts  (mechanical,  chemical,  agricultural,  etc.),  then 
political  economy,  which  treats  of  the  production  of 
wealth ;  then  social  science,  which  treats  of  the  distri- 
bution of  wealth,  the  public  health,  the  public  education, 
the  public  recreation,  etc.;  and,  last  of  all,  politicsi 
which  treats  of  the  laws  which  should  regulate  inter- 
ference (legislation,  government,  etc). 

The  two  last  of  these  divisions  alone  are  entitled  to  the 
name  of  moral  science,  which  lays  down  the  laws  of 
human  duty.  Anteriorly  to  the  consideration  of  man's 
action  on  man,  the  concept  of  duty  does  not  arise- 
Justice  is  the  rule  regulative  between  man  and  man . 
and  the  consideration  of  man's  relations  to  man  is  the 
first  period  at  which  moral  science  makes  its  appearance. 
In  chronological  evolution,  the  scientific  world  is  only 
attempting  to  complete  the  second  division  (political 
economy),  and  to  break  up  the  ground  of  the  third 
division  (social  science).  The  fourth  division  is,  as  yet, 
almost  unattacked,  and  in  practice  is  a  mere  superstition. 
Now,  natural  theology  can  never  legitimately  go  beyond 
those  branches  of  science  which  have  been  evolved  and  re- 
duced to  scientific  ordination.  And  every  attempt  to  make 
a  more  complete  theology,  than  science  really  warrants, 
only  produces  scepticism  on  the  part  of  those  who  find 
an  inconclusive  argument  advanced  as  a  demonstration. 
Moral  theology,  strictly  and  purely  scientific,  is  at  present 
impossible  (that  is,  impossible  for  the  world);  and  im- 


TIIK  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION.         801 

possible,  because  moral  science  has  not  yet  made  its 
appearance,  and  because  moral  theology  depends  on 
moral  science,  and  is  an  inference  from  it.  •  In  Britain,  of 
course,  Scripture  is  the  source  of  theology,  and  moral 
theology  is  derived  from  the  written  revelation.  But,  on 
the  Continent,  philosophy  is  the  theology  of  the  great 
mass  of  thinking  men;  and  their  theology,  derived  from 
the  revelation  of  nature,  does  actually  follow  the 
development  of  science.  And  as  scepticism  was  first 
posited  with  its  negation,  and  then  pantheism  with  its 
most  general  affirmation,  and  now,  instead  of  a  mere 
power,  an  intelligent  power  is  beginning  to  be  seen  as 
absolutely  necessary  to  explain  the  phenomena  of  nature, 
we  may  rest  assured  that,  with  the  development  of 
social  science  and  moral  science  (which  cannot  fail  to 
undergo  their  evolution  in  their  order),  there  will  arise 
necessarily  a  moral  theology,  and  the  world  will  be 
indoctrinated  with  the  theory  of  a  moral  Deity.* 

Now,  this  consummation  of  science,  although  of  course 
still  insufficient,  is  most  earnestly  to  be  desired,  not  be- 
cause natural  theology  can  never  be  a  substitute  for  the 


*  "Now,  this  moral  theology  has  a  peculiar  advantage  over  the  speculative. 
that  it  leads  infallibly  to  the  conception  of  a  single  all  most  perfect  and  reason- 
able First  Being,  whereunto  speculative  theology  never  directs  us  from  objec- 
tive grounds,  and  much  less  could  be  able  to  convince  us  of  the  same.  For  we 
do  not  find,  either  in  transcendental  or  natural  theology,  however  far  reason, 
therein  may  lead  us,  any  sufficient  ground  for  admitting  a  single  Being  only, 
which  we  presuppose  for  all  natural  causes,  and  upon  which  we  had,  at  the 
same  t  ime,  sufficient  cause  for  making  these  in  all  respects  dependent.  On  the 
contrary,  if  we  consider  from  the  point  of  view  of  moral  unity,  as  a  necessary 
law  of  the  world,  the  cause  which  alone  can  give  to  this  the  adequate  effect  .and 
consequently,  a-  t"  ourselves,  obligatory  force,  it  must  then  be  a  single  supreme 
will  that  comprehends  within  itself  all  these  laws.  For  how  would  we  find, 
under  different  wills,  perfect  unity  of  ends  ?  This  will  must  be  omnipotent  :  so 
that  all  nature,  and  its  reference  to  morality  in  the  world,  may  be  subjecte.l  to 
it — omniscient,  so  that  it  may  cognize  the  internal  of  sentiments,  and  their 
moral  worth — omnipresent,  so  that  it  may  be  (pady  immediately  for  all  the 
necessities  which  highest  optimism  demands — eternal,  so  that  at  no  time  this 
harmony  of  nature  and  liberty  be  wanting."— KANT'S  Critic  of  Pure  Ren.-mn. 

See,  also,  some  noble  passages  in  Samuel  Clarke's  "  Evidences."  appended  to 
his  "Demonstration." 


392         THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION. 

written  Word,  but  because  a  true  natural  theology  may  be 
the  great  preparative  for  the  universal  acceptance  of  the 
written  Word.  Eighteen  hundred  years  have  elapsed  since 
the  Creator  of  mankind  appeared  on  earth  to  proclaim  the 
doctrine  of  human  restoration ;  and  yet  three-fourths  of 
the  world  are  unacquainted  with  the  truth.  Even  in 
those  countries  where  the  Christian  religion  has  been  ac- 
cepted, no  such  improvement  of  man's  condition  has  fol- 
lowed as  would  at  all  justify  the  supposition  that  the 
gospel  has,  ever  yet,  borne  its  legitimate  fruits.  The 
truth  has  been  preserved;  but  most  assuredly  it  has  yet 
to  achieve  far  more  for  the  whole  race  of  man  than  it  has 
ever  yet  achieved  for  any  one  community.  And,  again, 
when  Luther's  repetition  of  the  fundamental  truth  of 
Christianity  (justification  by  faith)  held  out  a  promise  of 
good,  the  good  was  gradually  sacrificed  to  political  super- 
stitions ;  and  the  Reformation  failed  to  achieve  more  than 
a  partial,  and  very  partial,  benefit  to  the  world.  In  Ger- 
many, the  Church  became  rationalistic;  in  England,  Enis- 
tian,  sectarian,  schismatic,  rationalistic ;  and  lastly  there 
has  come  a  sickly  tendency  to  Roman  paganism  and 
idolatry.  In  Scotland,  moderatism  assailed  the  Church ; 
and  for  a  long  period  the  majority  of  the  ministers  were 
rather  moralists  than  Christians.  And  this  rationalistic, 
moralist,  or  moderate  exhibition  of  Christianity,  is  only  a 
national  diversity  of  the  same  fundamental  reality — name- 
ly, a  return  to  an  imperfect  theology  of  nature.  In  fact,  the 
history  of  the  Reformation  is  rather  the  history  of  the  dis- 
solution of  the  Papacy,  which  constructed  the  Church  on 
false  principles,  than  the  history  of  the  restoration  of  the 
Church  constructed  on  true  principles.  And  it  would  seem 
almost  an  inference  from  the  past  history  of  ecclesiastical 
Christianity  (we  speak  in  no  respect  of  spiritual  religion), 
that  the  Christian  Cliurch,  as  one  association,  offers  little 
prospect  of  being  reunited  until  civil  society  has  dis- 
covered the  true  principles  of  civil  association,  and 


THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION.         393 

founded  the  social  institutions  of  mankind  on  the  demon- 
strative principles  of  equity. 

But  while  the  written  Word  has  riot  hitherto  achieved 
a  condition  of  society  such  as  its  principles  would  dictate, 
and  such  as,  without  doubt,  it  will  one  day  achieve  for 
man,  we  must  not  overlook  what  it  has  achieved.  It  has 
not  yet  achieved  the  Christianization  of  mankind ;  but  it, 
and  it  as  the  major  cause,  has  achieved  the  civilization  of 
mankind.  And  this  civilization  has  been  the  slow  and 
gradual  acquisition  of  natural  truth,  and  the  reduction  of 
that  truth  to  practical  operation. 

Now,  if  it  be  true  that  all  human  science  ends  in 
morals,  and  that  natural  theology  follows  the  develop- 
ment of  science  (and  it  can  never  legitimately  be  in  ad- 
vance of  science),  then  natural  theology  will  come  ulti- 
mately to  be  a  purely  scientific  moral  theology,  and  will 
thus  be  brought  to  the  point  where  man  identifies  the 
God  of  Nature  with  the  God  of  Scripture.  And  thus  the 
long-lost  unity  will  be  once  more  restored,  and  the  en- 
lightened reason  of  mankind,  reading  aright  the  revela- 
tion of  the  true  God  in  the  cosmos  of  creation,  will  see — 
not  in  doubt  nor  in  darkness,  but  in  the  full  daylight 
splendor  of  its  own  inherent  majesty — the  divinity  of 
that  gospel  which  opens  up  the  heaven  of  the  moral  uni- 
verse, and  spreads  before  the  full-grown  intellect  of  man 
the  eternal  joys  of  a  purchased  immortality. 

Truth,  indeed,  once  canie  into  the  world  with  her 
divine  Master,  and  was  a  perfect  shape  most  glorious  to 
look  on ;  but  when  he  ascended,  and  his  apostles  after 
him  were  laid  asleep,  then  straight  arose  a  wicked  race 
of  deceivers,  who,  as  that  story  goes  of  the  Egyptian  Ty- 
phon  with  his  conspirators,  how  they  dealt  with  the  good 
Osiris,  took  the  virgin  Truth,  hewed  her  lovely  form  into 
a  thousand  pieces,  and  scattered  them  to  the  four  winds. 
From  that  time,  ever  since,  the  sad  friends  of  Truth- 
such  as  durst  appear — imitating  the  careful  search  that 


394        THE  THEORY  OF  HUMAN  PROGRESSION. 

I'sls  made  for  the  mangled  body  of  Osiris,  went  up  and 
down,  gathering  up  limb  by  limb  still  as  they  could  find 
them.  We  have  not  yet  found  them  all,  lords  and  com- 
mons, nor  ever  shall  do  till  her  Master's  second  coming. 
He  shall  bring  together  every  joint  and  member,  and 
shall  mould  them  into  an  immortal  feature  of  loveliness 
and  perfection. 


APPENDIX. 


ON  THE  CLASSIFICATION  OF  THE  SCIENCES. 

HAVING  assumed,  as  the  basis  of  our  argument  for  the  progres- 
sion of  humanity,  the  consecutive  evolution  of  the  sciences,  and 
their  logical  dependence  on  each  other,  we  have  endeavored  to 
present  the  sciences  in  a  tabulated  form,  which,  if  correct,  should 
present  the  logical  order  in  which  they  must  be  classified,  and  the 
chronological  order  in  which  they  must  be  evolved  by  the  human 
race.  To  have  exhibited  the  chronological  evolution  of  the  sciences, 
would  have  required  a  separate  dissertation,  for  which  we  have 
not  space  in  the  present  volume ;  but  if  the  reader  will  consider 
the  progress  of  science  from  the  days  of  the  schoolmen  down  to 
the  present  day,  he  will  find  that  the  following  table  which  is 
merely  logical,  might  be  exhibited,  in  fact,  as  chronological.  For 
that  purpose,  however,  each  science  would  have  required  to  be 
divided  into  its  separate  portions.  Thus,  acoustics  would  require 
to  be  divided  into  its  mechanics,  or  the  doctrine  of  its  motions  or 
vibrations,  and  its  music,  or  the  doctrine  of  its  tones.  And,  again, 
optics  would  require  to  be  divided  into  its  geometry,  or  the  doc- 
trine of  its  reflection,  refraction,  etc.  (in  which  it  is  unnecessary 
to  consider  the  motion  of  a  distinct  fluid) ;  into  its  mechanics,  or 
the  doctrine  of  its  motion  ;  and  into  its  chemistry,  or  the  doctrine 
of  its  agency  on  other  substances.  These  various  portions  are 
perfectly  distinct  (as  distinct  as  the  mechanics  of  solid  matter  from 
the  chemistry  of  solid  matter) ;  and  consequently,  in  the  history 
of  evolution,  it  is  to  be  expected  that  the  one  portion  will  evolve 
before  the  other,  although  all  may  be  assembled  under  the  saino 
name. 

Again,  this  mode  of  viewing  the  progressive  evolution  of  the 
sciences,  explains  at  once  the  controversy  between  the  Baconians 
and  the  Aristotelians.  Many  tirades  have  been  levied  against 

395 


396  APPENDIX. 

Aristotle  and  his  followers,  by  those  who  appear  altogether  inca- 
pable of  comprehending  his  method.  Aristotle's  method  was 
absolutely  necessary  (meaning  thereby  the  deductive  method 
of  reasoning)  ;  and  it  was  perfect,  so  far  as  the  mathematical 
sciences  extended.  Without  Aristotle,  there  could  have  been  no 
Bacon.  Both  were  requisite.  The  first  developed  the  general 
form  of  all  reasoning,  nnd  the  second  applied  the  form  to  the 
phenomena  of  matter.  But  the  deductive  mode  is  only  one  of  the 
phases  of  reasoning  ;  and  the  Baconians,  overlooking  the  fact, 
that  the  deductive  mode  was  the  only  mode  applicable  to  math- 
ematics, imagined  that  they  had  invented  a  new  method,  when 
they  had  only  inverted  the  method  which  Aristotle  had  bequeathed 
to  them.  For,  in  fact,  between  the  deductive  method  and  the  in- 
ductive method  there  is  only  this  difference,  that  in  the  former 
we  begin  with  the  major  and  minor  premises,  and  deduce  the  con- 
sequent ;  whereas,  in  the  inductive  method,  we  begin  with  the 
minor  premiss  (the  observed  conditions),  and  the  consequent  (the 
attendant  phenomena),  and  from  these  infer  the  major  premiss 
— that  is,  the  law  or  generalized  fact.  Aristotle  was  as  necessary 
as  Bacon  ;  and  though  the  Baconians  of  the  present  day  do  not 
perceive  it,  they  are  exactly  in  the  same  position  with  regard  to 
moral  science  that  the  Aristotelians  were  in  with  regard  to  matter 
science.  The  sensationalist  Baconians,  who  endeavor  to  make 
moral  science  by  a  mere  induction  of  facts,  are  as  much  out  of 
their  province  as  the  metaphysicians,  who  endeavored  to  make 
physical  theories  by  ratiocination.  A  third  method  is  now  re- 
quisite, and  then  the  scheme  of  knowledge  will  be  completed. 
Aristotle,  Bacon,  and  the  man  to  come,*  will  have  exhausted  the 
whole  doctrine  of  method.  But  each  is  necessary  in  his  place ; 
Aristotle  to  give  the  method  of  the  mathematical  sciences  (and 
also,  let  it  not  be  forgotten,  the  method  of  the  physical  sciences 
when  once  they  are  discovered) ;  Bacon  to  give  the  method  of  the 
physical  sciences  (in  the  process  of  discovery) ;  and  the  man  to 
come  to  give  the  method  of  the  "man-sciences.  But  even  in  the 
man-sciences  there  can  be  nothing  to  transcend  the  method  of 
Aristotle,  as  there  really  was  nothing  in  the  Baconian  method  to 


*  To  Kant  this  position  may  perhaps  be  ultimately  assigned,  but  even  in  that 
case  he  would  be  the  man  to  come,  as  he  has  not  yet  been  acknowledged  as  the 
author  of  the  terminal  method,  which  must  exhaust  the  realm  of  cognition.  It 
is  questionable  whether  any  future  writer  will  ever  be  able  to  transcend  Kant ; 
but  at  the  same  time  it  is  also  questionable  whether  the  critical  method  can  be 
fully  achieved  before  the  whole  of  the  sciences  are  evolved. 


APPENDIX.  397 

transcend  the  method  of  Aristotle.  Aristotle  gave  the  blank 
forms  of  reasoning,  and  Bacon  pointed  out  the  mode  of  putting 
real  facts  into  the  minor  propositions  of  the  syllogisms.  And 
whenever  man-science  is  fully  made,  it  also  will  be  only  a  filling 
in  of  real  truth  into  the  blank  formulae  of  Aristotle,  who,  although 
for  a  time  degraded  from  his  high  position,  will  again  hereafter 
be  esteemed  as  the  genuine  founder  of  scientific  method.  When 
physical  science,  passing  through  the  phase  of  induction,  which 
is  the  process  of  discovery,  shall  have  fairly  established  the  great 
major  propositions  of  the  physical  world,  the  method  of  Aristotle 
will  once  more  be  applicable,  and  his  name  will  again  be  revered 
as  second  to  none  in  the  grand  phenomenon  of  man's  intellectual 
development. 

If,  again,  it  be  true  that  man  evolves  the  sciences  in  a  certain 
chronological  order,  we  learn  to  appreciate  more  correctly  the 
various  labors  of  those  great  men  whose  names  symbol  the  respect- 
ive eras  of  development.  Thus  Aristotle  might  lay  bare  the  uni- 
versal doctrine  of  method,  and  after  ages  might  have  little  to 
improve  upon  his  labors.  His  logic  might  be  exhaustive,  and  no 
future  writer  might  be  able  to  say  that  he  had  seen  more  completely 
than  Aristotle  into  the  universal  form  of  science.  But  if  (as  we 
affirm)  logic  is  the  first  and  most  general  of  all  the  sciences,  the 
genuine  origin  of  all  systematic  reasoning,  then  logic  necessarily 
falls  to  be  classed  first,  and  Aristotle  might  develop  logic,  while 
his  opinions  on  all  other  branches  of  knowledge  were  empirical, 
incomplete,  superstitious,  or  erroneous.  His  logic  might  be 
perfect  while  his  politics  would  be  little  else  than  a  tissue  of 
assumptions. 

But  the  most  important  consideration  connected  with  the  follow- 
ing scheme  of  classification,  is  the  logical  dependence  of  one 
science  on  its  antecedent  science.  And  this  dependence  manifests 
itself  in  the  fact,  that  the  one  science  applied  to  the  forms  of  the 
next  fundamental  noun-substantive,  actually  becomes  the  next 
science.  Thus,  logic  applied  to  number  becomes  arithmetic  ;  arith- 
metic'1 applied  to  quantities  becomes  algebra  ;  algebra  applied  to 
spaces  becomes  geometry  ;  and  goemetry  applied  to  force  becomes 
statics. 

This  process  cannot  possibly  be  reversed.  It  is  not  arbitrary, 
but  necessary.  It  belongs  not  to  a  mode  of  classification  which 
might  serve  a  temporary  purpose,  but  to  a  general  mode  of 
classification  which  would  always  impel  man  as  man  to  arrange 
the  sciences  in  this  order,  and  in  no  other,  because  no  other  is 


398  APPENDIX. 

permanently  possible.  Not  that  we  have  succeeded  in  arranging 
the  physical  sciences  in  an  order  altogether  unobjectionable,  but 
that  we  have  exposed  the  principles  of  classification  which  must 
ultimately  prevail  when  the  doubts  and  difficulties  now  connected 
with  the  physical  sciences  shall  have  been  cleared  away,  and  the 
relations  between  electricity,  chemistry,  and  magnetism,  been  so 
simplified,  as  to  enable  lines  of  demarcation  to  be  drawn  with  a 
precision  which  the  mere  logician  would  not  now  be  justified  in 
attempting. 

Those  who  are  familiar  with  logic  (and  happily  that  science  is 
gradually  regaining  its  position),  will  perceive  that  the  funda- 
.mental  nouns-substantive  of  the  sciences,  are  classed  on  their 
extension  and  comprehension,  the  extension  diminishing  exactly 
as  the  comprehension  includes  more  and  more  qualities  or  predi- 
cates. And  this  circumstance  affords  a  high  presumption,  that 
the  order  is  not  arbitrary,  but  the  genuine  order  of  nature. 

Science  in  every  case  involves  reasoning,  and  where  there  is  not 
reasoning  (as  in  the  descriptive  sciences)  there  is  only  classification, 
which  is  the  preliminary  of  science.  But,  anterior  to  reasoning, 
there  are  the  fundamental  and  universal  propositions  of  human 
credence,  which  belong  to  ontology  or  metaphysic.  And  ontology 
furnishes  the  axioms  to  the  mathematical  sciences,  which  axioms 
render  deductive  reasoning  possible. 

Ontology  posits  what  Kant  has  accurately  termed  a  synthetic 
proposition  ;  and  this  synthetic  proposition,  next  to  the  abstrac- 
tion, is  the  very  foundation  of  all  science  whatever.  True,  the 
sensationalists  have  endeavored  to  obliterate  this  synthetic  prop- 
osition ;  but  the  current  of  human  credence  is  rapidly  returning 
to  a  more  genuine  estimation  of  the  real  character  of  the  phenom- 
ena of  thought,  and  the  fundamentals  of  belief  (never  capable 
of -being  rejected  in  fact)  may  ere  long  be  expected  to  undergo  an 
examination  which  shall  place  them  beyond  dispute. 

But  another  consideration  may  be  made  with  regard  to  thought. 
Two  methods  of  studying  thought  are  open  to  mankind  : — First. 
The  psychological  ;  and,  second,  The  critical.  The  psychological 
assumes  the  power  of  man  to  make  thought  itself  objective,  to 
study  it,  classify  it,  and  reason  with  it — the  ultimate  appeal  being 
to  the  human  consciousness.  This  method  is  ever  open  to  objec- 
tion. The  intellectualist  may  posit  substance,  and  cause,  and 
power,  and  appeal  for  the  confirmation  of  his  doctrine  to  the  con- 
sciousness of  mankind.  The  sceptic  at  once  asserts  the  subjec- 
tivity of  the  concepts,  and  uproots  the  very  possibility  of  proof. 


M'l'EMJIX.  399 

True,  he  says,  there  is  a  substance,  but  that  substance  is  in  thought ; 
and  a  cause,  but  the  cause  is  in  thought ;  and  a  power,  but  the 
power  is  in  thought.  And  thus  the  intellectualist  is  reduced  to 
the  mere  reiteration  of  his  dogma — a  dogma  which,  so  long  as  he 
confines  himself  to  the  criterion  of  consciousness,  is  no  more  than 
an  assertion  of  his  own  mental  experience  or  conviction. 

Far  otherwise  with  the  critic.  The  critic  takes  his  stand  on  the 
immovable  basis  of  science,  and,  leaving  all  questions  of  conscious- 
ness or  of  mental  operation,  he  makes  the  whole  range  of  the 
sciences  objective,  and  asks  what  thoughts  the\*  have  posited,  and 
what  methods  they  have  pursued  ?  He  leaves  it  to  every  science 
in  particular  to  determine  what  is  true  and  what  is  false  in  each 
region  of  inquiry  ;  and,  when  science  has  achieved  her  office,  he 
culls  the  first  and  fundamental  truths  of  each  science,  and  says, 
"These  are  indisputable;  and.  if  you  question  them,  you  must 
fight  your  battle  with  the  world  of  science,  which  has  established 
and  authenticated  these  propositions."  And  thus  when  he  speaks 
of  power,  he  appeals  not  to  consciousness,  but  to  the  science  of 
dynamics,  which  treats  especially  of  power,  and  performs  with 
that  substantive  operations  which  could  not  be  performed  with- 
out it. 

The  sciences  are  all  direct  and  spontaneous,  and  their  office  is  to 
determine  what  is  true.  In  geometry,  for  instance,  the  axioms 
arc  spontaneously  true  ;  and  geometry  never  does,  and  never  can, 
inquire  into  the  objectivity  or  subjectivity  of  her  fundamental 
propositions.  They  are  true  necessarily,  because  no  effort  of  man 
can  conceive  them  otherwise.  And  when  they  have  been  accepted 
on  these  terms  by  geometry,  they  are  handed  over  to  the  critic  ; 
whose  office  is  not  to  determine  what  axioms  are  true,  but  to  ex- 
amine what  they  consist  of,  what  is  their  form,  their  meaning,  and 
their  function. 

And  as  the  sciences,  when  completed,  will  involve  every  sub- 
stantive that  can  enter  philosophy,  and  every  proposition  that 
could  give  rise  to  a  question  on  the  reality  of  knowledge,  critical 
philosophy  will  thus  become  the  genuine  doctrine  of  thought ; 
not  inquiring  into  the  truth  of  the  thought,  for  that  is  the  office 
of  science,  but  into  its  form  and  mechanism.  And  thus  philosophy 
would  be  at  once  the  genuine  scientia  scientiarum,  and  the  genuine, 
exposition  of  the  laws  of  human  thought,  based  on  the  whole 
range  of  science,  and  appealing  to  ascertained  knowledge  for  the 
substantiation  of  her  fundamental  truths. 

If  psychology  have  any  truths  to  advance,  they  must  be  advanced 


400  APPENDIX. 

as  scientific,  and  not  philosophic  truths.  Philosophy  cannot 
acknowledge  them  till  they  have  been  already  established  beyond 
dispute  ;  and  then  philosophy  uses  them  for  a  purpose  altogether 
distinct  from  the  purpose  of  science.  Science,  making  its  realm 
of  investigation  objective,  inquires  what  is  true  in  the  object,  and 
this  object  may  be  man  as  well  as  matter.  But  when  science  has 
made  her  truth,  and  achieved  her  independent  inquiry,  philosophy 
accepts  the  truth,  and  endeavors,  with  the  whole  mass  received 
from  the  whole  category  of  the  sciences,  to  read  aright  the  phe- 
nomenon of  knowledge  ;  and,  linking  the  object  with  the  subject, 
to  complete  the  circle  of  cognition,  and,  it  may  be,  to  project 
some  reasonable  anticipation  of  the  future  destiny  of  humanity. 

The  last  of  the  direct  sciences  is  theology.  Theology  completes 
the  range  of  spontaneous  science,  and  closes  the  book  of  science, 
properly  so  called.  But  beyond  theology  lies  critical  philosophy, 
which  reflects  on  the  whole  course  of  knowledge,  and  examines 
the  method  that  has  been  pursued.  And  this  critical  philosophy 
can  never  be  achieved  till  the  whole  of  the  sciences  are  complete 
— complete,  not  in  having  made  manifest  every  truth  which  they 
quantitatively  contain,  but  complete  in  having  posited  their  funda- 
mental propositions,  and  acknowledged  the  method  by  which  they 
evolve  truths  of  a  certain  specific  quality.  And  if  this  be  the  case, 
it  is  plainly  evident  that  critical  philosophy  has  yet  to  undergo  a 
new  expansion  ;  in  fact,  that  so  long  as  there  remains  one  qualita- 
tive science  to  be  reduced  to  ordination,  critical  philosophy  is  only 
partially  possible.  Moral  science  and  natural  theology  must  be 
truths  for  the  world,  before  critical  philosophy  can  sum  up  the 
whole  facts  of  cognition,  and  pronounce  judgment  on  the  cosmos 
of  man's  knowledge. 

But  what  is  the  lesson  that  philosophy  can  teach  ?  the  last  prob- 
lem of  man's  inquiries  upon  earth  ? 

In  this  philosophy  there  may  lie  involved  the  stupendous  fact  of 
a  mystery  insoluble  to  the  reason — a  mystery  that  has  borne  down 
humanity,  and  baffled  the  mightiest  efforts  of  the  intellect.  Ever 
and  ever  there  comes  back  the  appalling  consciousness  of  "  a  rea- 
son that  points  infallibly  in  one  direction,  and  a  fallen  nature  that 
tends  infallibly  in  another."  Science  is  here  utterly  helpless  to 
inform  ;  and  philosophy,  while  recording  the  fact,  weeps  over  the 
hopeless  mystery.  Man  cannot  solve  the  mystery.  And  thus 
philosophy,  reading  the  whole  realm  of  knowledge,  and  beholding 
all  that  the  intellect  can  teach,  lands  at  last  on  the  shore  of  that 
ocean  where  a  higher  than  man  must  guide— where  the  horizon. 


APPENDIX.  401 

is  infinity,  and  where  she  might  gaze  forever  on  the  lost  regions 
of  illimitable  space.  That  ocean  philosophy  cannot  traverse. 
Reason  cannot  survey  the  infinite.  Time,  and  earth,  and  man's 
knowledge,  are  all  behind ;  and  before  is  the  infinite  ocean  of 
immortality.  And  here  philosophy  must  end  with  a  pathless 
ocean  and  an  insoluble  mystery.  Her  work  is  over — finished. 
She  has  no  compass  to  guide  on  the  trackless  waters — no  beacon 
to  direct  her.  The  loadstar  of  heaven  must  appear,  and  Faith 
giving  the  hand  to  Reason  may  lead  by  the  records  of  eternal 
Truth. 

Nor  is  this  faith  itself  unreasonable.  It  is  not  mysticism  nor 
superstition,  but  credence  of  a  matter  beyond  the  realm  of  reason, 
by  means  of  an  evidence  within  the  bounds  of  reason  ;  reason 
being  judge  of  the  evidence  which  authenticates  the  matter. 

And  thus  the  last  final  lesson  that  philosophy  can  teach,  and 
which  one  day  it  will  teach  the  world,  is,  that  there  is  an  insoluble 
mystery  within  the  region  of  cognition  ;  and  that,  consequently, 
the  only  hope  of  knowledge  is  in  a  revelation  from  that  Divine 
Creator  and  Preserver  whose  moral  existence  has  been  proven  by 
natural  theology.  And  this  indeed  is  the  true  province  of  phi- 
losophy, her  great  work,  her  terrible  achievement,  save  that  there 
is  hope  from  on  high.  She  lands  indeed  at  last  on  the  shore  of  a 
boundless  ocean  ;  but  in  so  doing  she  bequeaths  to  man  the  last 
record  of  her  teaching — that  in  revelation  alone  can  be  found  the 
truth  that  humanity  requires. 

CLASSIFICATION  OF  THE  SCIENCES. 

All  science  presents  itself  under  the  following  aspect : — 

1.  The  substantive. 

2.  The  relation  between  two  substantives. 
This  is  called  the  proposition. 

Two  propositions  must  in  every  case  be  given  before  there  can 
be  reasoning. 

3.  The  evolution  of  a  new  relation  from  two  propositions  given. 
This  in  its  complete  form  is  called  the  syllogism. 

This  is  the  universal  form  of  science,  and  it  first  appears  in 
logic,  which  is  the  most  abstract  form  of  all  science. 

The  evolved  relation  is  always  a  new  relation,  being  the  relation 
between  one  of  the  substantives  of  one  of  the  given  propositions, 
and  one  of  the  substantives  of  the  other  proposition. 

A  perfect  syllogism  presents  itself  under  the  following  general 
form  : — 


402  APPENDIX. 

Major  Premiss.     The  whole  of  B  is  C. 

Minor  Premiss.     The  whole  of  A  is  B. 

Consequent.          The  whole  of  A  is  C. 

In  the  deductive  sciences  (the  mathematical  sciences  always,  and 
the  physical  sciences  when  their  laws  are  discovered)  the  evolved 
relation  is  the  conclusion  or  consequent  of  the  syllogism. 

In  the  inductive  sciences,  while  undergoing  their  process  of 
discovery,  the  evolved  relation  is  the  major  premiss,  which  then 
becomes  efficient  for  deductive  reasoning  in  new  cases. 

Every  single  science  consists  of  a  nomenclature,  a  classification, 
and  a  system  of  syllogisms  ;  that  is,  of  a  system  of  propositions 
connected  together  by  the  law  of  reason  and  consequent. 

A  classification  is  improperly  termed  a  'science  ;  it  is  only  a  por- 
tion of  a  science,  the  propositions  which  are  isolated  in  a  classifi- 
cation requiring  to  be  connected  by  the  law  of  reason  and  conse- 
quent, before  science  properly  so  called  is  achieved. 

In  the  physical  sciences,  matter  invariably  appears  as  a  power, 
or  force,  or  agent,  or  as  acted  on  by  a  power,  or  force,  or  agent ; 
whereas  in  the  mere  classification  it  is  a  substance.* 

In  mechanics,  matter  is  viewed  as  a  power  capable  of  acting  on 
other  matter,  without  producing  a  change  in  the  qualitative 
powers  of  the  portions  of  the  matter  operated  upon. 

In  chemistry,  matter  is  viewed  as  a  power  capable  of  producing 
a  change  in  the  qualitative  powers  of  every  portion  of  the  matter 
operated  upon. 

In  political  economy,  matter  is  viewed  as  a  power  (called  value) ; 

*  Unless  matter  be  conceived  as  a  power  (a  power  located  or  conditioned), 
there  cannot  be  science.  There  might  be  a  knowledge  of  facts,  but  the  facts 
must  be  connected  by  the  law  of  reason  and  consequent,  before  the  facts  will 
function  in  science  ;  and  they  can  only  be  connected  by  the  law  of  reason  and 
consequent  by  making  matter  an  agent,  or  power.  But  though  some  matter  is 
always  present  as  a  power,  there  may  also,  in  the  same  syllogism,  be  matter 
present  as  a  substance — that  is,  as  an  object  acted  on  by  the  agent ;  while  for 
the  moment  the  reaction  of  the  object  on  the  agent  is  not  taken  into  considera- 
tion. 

As  every  major  premiss  represents  a  power,  every  minor  premiss  a  classifica- 
tion, and  every  consequent  a  produced  phenomenon — matter  may  appear  in 
the  major  as  a  power,  and  in  the  minor  as  a  substance,  thus  :— 

Major.  Matter  acting  (a  power). 

Minor.  Matter  acted  upon  (a  substance). 

Consequent.    Produced  phenomenon. 

Dr.  Thomas  Brown,  in  advocating  the  substantial  claims  of  matter  against 
the  potential,  appears  to  have  overlooked  the  fact,  that  we  know  as  little  of 
substance  as  of  power.  Both  are  relative  terms,  and  if  the  one  be  obliterated, 
the  other,  by  a  parity  of  reasoning,  ought  also  to  disappear. 


.APPENDIX.  403 

which  power  is  the  power  of  exchanging  against  other  articles,  or 
against  services  ;  or  it  is  viewed  as  a  power  capable  of  producing 
articles  of  value.  In  political  economy,  man  himself  is  viewed  as 
a  power  capable  of  producing  value,  or  consuming  it. 

In  politics,  man  is  viewed  as  a  conscious  power,  capable  of  act- 
ing equitably  or  unequitably  towards  his  fellow-men. 

Power,  and  not  substance,  is  the  essence  of  all  physical  science  ; 
and  the  object  of  research  is  the  discovery  of  the  exact  specifica- 
tion of  the  powers  of  nature  in  their  most  general  form,  so  that 
those  powers  shall  function  in  the  syllogism,  and  produce  logical 
consequents  which  shall  coincide  with  the  observed  consequents 
wherever  the  verification  can  be  made. 

All  science  exists  in  the  mind,  and  it  is  only  as  the  substantives 
of  the  sciences  are  made  to  function  logically  in  human  thought 
that  science  is  really  achieved .  Science ,  then ,  is  a  f  orm  of  though  t , 
and  when  evolved  it  is  the  same  for  all  human  intellect ;  so  that 
it  involves  in  itself  the  unity  of  human  credence,  in  opposition  to 
the  diversity  of  error,  superstition,  or  mere  opinion. 


FIRST. 

The  foundation  of  human  knowledge  is  Ontology.  Ontology  fur- 
nishes— 1st,  The  abstraction  or  substantive  of  the  science ;  and, 
3d,  The  axiomatic  proposition,  or  necessary  relation  which  ren- 
ders reasoning  possible.  Ontology  is  not  a  science,  but  is  the 
necessary  preparation  for  all  the  sciences.  The  mathematical 
sciences  derive  their  axioms  from  ontology.  Ontology  presents 
itself  in  the  form — 

A.  The  abstraction  or  substantive  posited. 

A  is  B.  The  relation  or  proposition.  The  synthetic  proposi- 
tion of  Kant,  which  becomes  the  axiom  in  mathematics. 

Science. 

Science  originates  when  we  apply  a  rational  method  to  the  ob- 
ject of  intellectual  perception,  rejecting  all  human  authority  and 
all  human  superstition. 

The  universal  form  of  science  is  Logic.  Logic  furnishes  the 
laws  of  identity  and  equality,  and  its  process  is  called  reasoning. 
Logic  presents  itself  in  the  form — 

A  is  B  ;  B  is  0  ;  ergo,  A  is  C  :  the  law  of  identity. 


404  APPENDIX. 

A  is  part  of  B  ;  the  whole  of  B  is  part  of  C  ;  ergo,  A  is  part  of 
C  :  the  law  of  equality. 

The  doctrine  of  identity  and  equality  is  therefore  the  first 
science,  and  the  sciences  range  themselves  in  the  order  given  in 
the  accompanying  table. 

A  more  uniform  nomenclature  might,  however,  be  attempted 
in  the  following  manner  : — 

1st,  Primary  Knowledge,  necessary  and  universal. 
Ontologic. 

2d,  Science. 
Logic  or  Syllogistic. 
Mathematic. 
Dynamic. 
Physic.     (A  term  absurdly  applied  in  Britain  to  drugs  and 

drugging.) 

Mechanic  1      Of  all  the  various  forms  or  mani- 

(  Magnetic  I  ifestations    of  matter    with    which 

•j  Chemic  /"  man  is  acquainted,  classified  speci- 

(  Electro-Galvanic  J  ally  in  each  science. 

Organic, — 

Botanic. 

Zoologic  (including  man  as  an  animal). 

Anthropologic,  or  Man-science. 

Artistic.     (Arts  and  manufactures,  etc.) 
(  Economic.     (Production  of  wealth.) 
( Socialistic.     (Distribution  of  wealth  and  wel- 
fare of  the  community.) 
Politic.*    (The  laws  of  equity.) 
Theologicf  (The  Divine  Creator  of  man  and  the  universe.) 

*  The  term  ethic  is  objectionable,  ethos  meaning  a  manner  or  custom.  On 
the  contrary,  if  it  be  true  that  man  ought  to  be  a  citizen  or  member  of  a  State, 
and  not  an  isolated  individual,  the  term  politic  may  p-ioperly  apply  to  the  rules 
that  should  regulate  men  as  citizens ;  that  is.  in  their  actions  towards  each 
other,  and  to  the  system  of  truth  on  which  those  rules  are  founded.  It  must  be 
remembered  that  man  is  by  nature  either  a  politic  being  or  not  a  politic  being  ;  - 
and  very  important  consequences  follow  in  either  case. 

t  In  the  previous  table  we  viewed  theology  from  the  point  of  view  of  man's 
accountability  ;  but  when  that  view  has  been  taken,  theology  must,  of  course, 
be  erected  into  a  genus  by  itself,  and  as  comprehending  all  the  other  sciences. 
In  looking  upwards  from  man,  the  Divine  Judge  is  alone  apparent ;  but  in 
tracing  the  universe  from  God,  the  whole  universe  appears  as  his  handiwork. 
Both  of  these  modes  are  legitimate,  but  each  gives  rise  to  a  separate  series  of 
considerations. 


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APPENDIX.  405 

3d,  Philosophy. 

Critic.  What  have  I  known  ?         }        See    Kant,      Canon 

Dikaistic.      What  ought  I  to  do ?          [of  Pure  Reason.     Sect. 
Elpistic.         What  may  I  hope  ?  )  2. 

Seeing  that  man  is  a  fallen  creature,  and  that  there  is  an  insoluble 
mystery  within  the  region  of  cognition,  the  two  latter  questions 
can  never  receive  a  satisfactory  answer  from  natural  knowledge. 
Revelation  alone  can  answer  them. 

If  we  view  knowledge  as  necessarily  evolving,  both  logically 
and  chronologically,  in  the  above  order,  the  scheme  ought  to  ex- 
plain the  generation  of  science  ;  that  is,  the  mode  in  which  one 
science  grows  out  of,  and  is  produced  by,  another.  And  to  effect 
this  explanation  we  have  only  to  arrange  the  sciences  as  consecu- 
tive, so  that  one  science  applied  to  the  classification  (or  classified 
substantives)  of  the  next  science,  should  produce  the  next  science  ; 
•remembering  always,  that  each  science  introduces  a  new  concept, 
a  new  nomenclature,  and  a  new  series  of  classified  substantives, 
which  are  made  to  function  in  the  mind  by  the  laws  of  the  pre- 
vious science. 

Thus,  ontology  gives  the  laws  to  logic,  while  logic  gives  the 
laws  to  arithmetic,  arithmetic  to  algebra,  and  so  on. 

Abstraction  gives  the  substantives  to  ontology,  and  ontology 
gives  the  universal  forms  of  rational  thought  (or  of  knowledge) ; 
and  these,  applied  to  the  classified  terms  of  logic,  evolve  the  proc- 
ess of  reasoning  ;  and  the  process  of  reasoning  applied  to  classified 
numbers  gives  arithmetic  ;  and  so  forth.  Thus  : — 

Ontology. 

Ontology,  Logic. 

Ontology,  Logic,  Arithmetic. 

Ontology,  Logic,  Arithmetic,  Algebra. 

Ontology,  Logic,  Arithmetic,  Algebra,  Geometry. 

Ontology,  Logic,  Arithmetic,  Algebra,  Geometry,  Statics. 

This  table  would  extend  as  far  as  the  mechanics  of  sound,  light, 
and  K.'at  ;  and  if  electricity  (or  any  power  by  whatever  name 
known)  should  come  to  be  viewed  as  the  cause  of  magnetic, 
chemic,  and  electric  phenomena,  the  table  would  then  extend 
to  physiology,  the  last  of  the  purely  physical  sciences,  after  which 
intelligence  appears.  A  new  region  is  then  entered  on. 

On  analyzing  a  science  into  its  general  elements,  a  correlatior 
is  observed  to  exist  between  the  operations  of  nature  and  th 


406  APPENDIX. 

operations  of  the  human  reason.  Every  function  in  nature  is 
conceived  under  the  conditions  of — 

An  agent,  an  object,  a  phenomenon  ; 

or  concretely — 

Force,  matter,  motion ; 

whereas  the  function,  \vhen  transformed  [into  language,  presents 
itself  in  the  form — 

A  major,  a  minor,  a  consequent ; 

the  syllogism  in  the  reason  being  the  representative  of  the  function 
in  external  nature.  But  as  it  is  the  rational  apprehension  of  the 
function,  and  not  the  function  itself,  which  constitutes  science, 
every  individual  science  will  present  itself  as  ordinated  on  the 
plan  of  major,  minor,  and  consequent.  And  as  each  science  may 
be  viewed  in  its  general  or  speculative  truth  and  in  its  practical 
application,  each  science  may- present  itself  as  a  series  of  double 
syllogisms,  where  the  consequent  of  the  speculative  portion  becomes 
the  major  premiss  of  the  practical  portion.  The  folio  wing  scheme 
will  be  sufficient  to  illustrate  this  point,  taking  one  example  from 
the  mathematical  sciences,  one  from  the  physical  sciences,  and 
one  from  moral  science.  In  a  special  treatise  the  subject  might 
be  pursued  to  a  much  greater  length  : — 

SPECULATIVE  GEOMETRY. 
Major.  The  axioms. 

Minor.  The  specification  of  spaces  (definitions). 

Consequent.  The  function  of  lines,  etc. 

Applied  Geometry. 

Major.  The  function  of  lines,  etc. 

Minor.  The  specification  of  concrete  conditions. 

Consequent.  Concrete  determination  of  spaces. 

In  commerce  again,  this  consequent  becomes  the  major  premiss  of  a  new 
syllogism,  e.  g. — 

Major.  Concrete  determination  of  spaces  (so  many  acres  of  land). 

Minor.  Rate  of  value  (so  much  per  acre). 

Consequent.  Concrete  determination  of  value. 

This  is  the  process  that  connects  the  very  highest  and  most 
ultimate  abstractions  with  the  most  immediate  and  concrete  mat- 
ters of  practical  life.  It  is  also  the  process  which  constitutes  the 
chain  of  proof  in  any  particular  science,  the  proven  conclusion 


APPENDIX.  407 

being  transformed  into  an  admitted  major,  for  the  purpose  of 
evolving  a  new  consequent. 

Speculative  Mechanics. 
Major.  General  laws  of  force. 

Minor.  Specification  of  particular  forces. 

Consequent.  Action  of  particular  forces. 

Real  Mechanics  (Astronomy,  for  instance). 
Major.  Action  of  particular  forces. 

Minor.  Specification  of  the  conditions  of  matter. 

Consequent.  Action  of  matter. 

Reading  this  last  syllogism  from  the  bottom  upwards,  it  becomes 
an  inductive  syllogism,  the  forces  being  inferred  from  the  actions 
of  matter  and  the  conditions  of  matter.  The  consequent,  again, 
might  become  a  major  in  another  syllogism  ;  for  instance,  in  the 
determination  of  a  ship's  latitude,  e.  g.— <• 

Major.  Action  of  matter  (motions  of  the  heavenly  bodies). 

Minor.  Observed  conditions  (sun's  apparent  altitude). 

Consequent.  Latitude  of  observer. 

This  syllogism,  of  course,  involves  numerous  details  and  special 
considerations.  Its  consequent,  again,  becomes  available  in  a  new 
reasoning,  either  by  itself  (as  in  running  down  a  port  or  island  in 
the  same  latitude — a  common  practice  among  elementary  navi- 
gators), or  combined  with  the  determination  of  the  longitude.  Thus 
(the  mariner  knowing  himself  to  be  east  or  west  of  his  port) — 

Major.  Latitude  of  observer. 

Minor.  Latitude  of  desired  port. 

Consequent.  Course  to  be  steered. 

So  that  a  few  general  syllogisms,  with  their  propositions  properly 
filled  with  the  specific  details,  lead  from  celestial  mechanics  to 
practical  navigation. 

Speculative  Politic. 

Major.  The  axioms  of  general  Inws  of  equity. 

Minor.  Specification  of  particular  actions. 

Consequent.  Moral  value  of  actions. 

Politics  Applied  as  Rule  of  Action. 
Major.  Moral  value  of  actions. 

Minor.  Specification  of  the  conditions  of  men. 

Consequent.  Concrete  actions  that  ought  to  result. 

Politics  realized  in  Legislatio 

Major.  Concrete  actions  that  aught  to  result. 

Minor.  Concrete  actions  that  do  or  may  result. 

Consequent.  Legal  prohibition,  restriction,  etc. 


408  APPENDIX. 

In  the  foregoing  table  of  the  sciences,  neither  astronomy  nor 
geology  appeai-s.  Astronomy  is  not  in  itself  a  science,  but  a  real 
illustration  or  example  of  the  science  of  mechanics.* 

The  qualitative  forces  of  all  real  matter  have  to  be  inferred  (and 
herein  lies  the  method  of  induction) ;  but  when  inferred,  the  sub- 
stantives are  viewed  as  functioning  under  the  influence  of  laws 
which  are  more  general  than  any  real  or  concrete  manifestation 
with  which  man  is  acquainted. 

Science  is  an  attempt  to  make  the  conceived  substantives  of 
nature  function  in  the  human  mind  correlatively  with  their  real 
functions  ;  so  that  from  the '  observed  conditions  of  to-day,  the 
reason  may  predict  what  the  conditions  of  to-morrow  will  be — 
nature  performing  the  real  operations,  and  reason  performing  the 
rational  computation.  And  if  the  rational  operation  be  correct 
(that  is,  coincident  with  the  real  operation),  the  sensations  of  to- 
morrow will  confirm  the  method,  and  authenticate  the  rational 
process  of  the  thought. 

But  if  astronomy  be  viewed  as  only  a  stupendous  art,  or  real 
operation  done,  it  follows,  according  to  the  same  mode  of  viewing, 
that  the  qualitative  characteristics  of  matter  revealed  by  chemis- 
try must  also  be  assembled  in  a  classification,  and  be  viewed  as 
functioning  under  the  influence  of  a  general  power  ;  and  if  mag- 
netism, chemistry,  and  electricity,  could  be  absolutely  identified 
(on  which,  of  course,  we  can  offer  no  opinion,  having  only  to  do 
with  the  method  of  classification),  then  chemistry  would  recede 
from  its  position  as  a  science,  and  take  up  its  position  as  the 
classification  of  the  science  of  electricity.  But  these  points  must 

*  When,  however,  knowledge  is  classified  on  its  objective  elements  (which 
exhibit  the  real  operations),  the  realm  of  nature  may  be  divided  into  its  phy- 
siologies, and  these  are  viewed  as  existing  in  time  and  space.  The  division 
would  then  be  into— 

1.  Astronomy,  or  the  physiology  of  the  sidereal  universe. 

2.  Geology  (in  its  most  extensive  signification),  or  the  physiology  of  the  ter- 
restrial world. 

3.  The  vegetable  world. 

4.  The  animal  world. 

5.  The  human  world. 

But  as  astronomy  and  geology  present  certain  concrete  conditions,  concrete 
arrangements,  and  concrete  functions,  if,  seems  more  simple  to  reserve  the  term 
science  for  a  knowlege  of  the  principles  according  to  which  the  functions  are 
supposed  to  take  place,  and  according  to  which  other  concrete  functions  would 
have  taken  place  had  the  conditions  been  other  than  they  are.  By  this 
arrangement,  the  sciences  would  form  the  major  premiss  of  a  great  syllo- 
gism ;  the  conditions  of  the  various  substantives  of  nature,  the  minor  pre- 
miss ;  and  the  history  of  real  events  or  functions,  the  consequent. 


APPENDIX.  409 

all,  in  the  first  place,  be  satisfactorily  determined  by  the  men  of 
science,  from  whom  the  logician  receives  the  materials  that  re- 
quire to  be  schematized. 

When  the  whole  of  the  sciences  are  evolved,  critical  philosophy 
becomes  possible  in  its  complete  form,  being  always  possible  so 
far  as  science  has  actually  extended,  and  no  farther.  Critical 
philosophy  is  the  final  termination  of  man's  intellectual  labors  on 
earth.  It  consists  in  the  reflex  consideration  of  the  scheme  of 
science,  and  critically  examines  the  mode  in  which  human  in- 
tellect, constituted  as  it  is,  has  been  able  to  evolve  and  develop  the 
sciences.  Critical  philosophy  pronounces  nothing  on  the  truth  or 
falsehood  of  the  sciences,  but  on  their  form,  their  order,  their 
relations,  their  classification,  and  their  functions.  The  whole 
scheme  of  natural  knowledge  being  completed,  the  last  inference 
that  can  be  drawn  from  the  consideration  of  the  whole,  is  the 
prospective  destiny  of  man  ;  and  the  scheme  of  natural  knowledge 
will  thus  be  brought  to  the  verge  of  that  region  where  revelation 
alone  can  speak  authoritatively,  and  solve  those  questions  which 
are  insoluble  by  the  unaided  reason. 


410  NOTES. 


NOTE  A.— P.  116. 

In  political  economy,  land,  labor,  money,  etc.,  may  all  be  reck- 
oned as  raw  material,  out  of  which  the  ultimate  value  is  produced. 
The  agriculturist  inquires  how  corn  is  manufactured,  but  the 
economist  inquires  how  value  is  manufactured. 


NOTE  B.— P.  132. 

While  we  hear  so  much  of  the  horrors  of  the  French  Revolution, 
it  is  singular  that  we  hear  so  little  of  the  horrors  that  caused  it. 
The  most  infamous  injustice,  systematically  established  by  lasv, 
seems  to  excite  little  or  no  indignation  ;  while  the  popular  re- 
action consequent  on  that  injustice  (although  only  a  consequence 
flowing  from  the  laws  of  human  nature),  is  branded  with  every 
epithet  that  language  can  supply.  Surely  this  is  a  most  unphil- 
osophical  method  of  studying  history.  The  condition  of  France 
after  the  Revolution  was  incomparably  better  than  its  condition 
previous  to  that  great  outbreak  ;  and  though  the  passage  was  a 
stormy  one  (from  the  total  absence  of  religion  among  the  people), 
France  gained  as  much  in  thirty  yeai*s  as  it  would  have  taken 
centuries  to  achieve  had  the  sword  not  been  appealed  to.  The  con- 
dition of  the  law  in  France  before  the  Revolution,  as  contrasted 
with  its  present  condition,  is  exhibited  in  the  following  quota- 
tions : — 

"  The  ancient  laws  of  France  were  a  mixture  of  the  civil,  feudal,  and  canon 
law.  Partly  they  were  the  doctrines  of  the  authorities  on  the  civil  law,  and 
partly  they  were  the  ordinances  issued  by  the  various  monarchs.  By  far  the 
greatest  portion,  however,  in  bulk,  consisted  of  the  pecifliar  feudal  customs  of 
the  various  provinces.  In  these  the  feudal  system  was  sometimes  retained  in 
so  high  a  state  of  purity,  that  the  collectors  of  provincial  customs  are  esteemed 
excellent  authorities  on  the  subject.  But  it  was  not  merely  in  each  province 
that  there  was  a  local  custom.  The  power  of  the  crown,  or  any  other  para- 
mount legislature,  was  so  feeble,  that  wherever  an  assembly  of  men  were  held 
together  by  one  common  tie,  as  where  they  were  co-vassals  of  one  lord  or  mem- 
bers of  the  same  civic  community,  they  had  HI  some  measure  a  code  of  laws  of 
their  own.  The  royal  codes,  which  existed  on  a  large  scale,  are  estimated  at 


NOTES.  411 

about  300 ;  but  of  the  number  of  inferior  local  customs  it  would  be  impossible 
to  make  an  estimate.  Voltaire  observes,  that  a  man  travelling  through  his 
country  has  to  change  laws  as  often  as  he  has  to  change  horses,  and  that  the 
most  learned  barrister  in  one  village  will  be  a  complete  ignoramus  a  few  miles 
off.  The  seignorial  courts  were  divided  into  three  grades,  according  to  the  ex- 
tent of  the  penal  authority  exercised  by  them.  The  principal  courts  of  law 
were  the  parliments  of  the  respective  provinces.  Seats  in  them  were  generally 
held  by  purchase,  or  were  in  the  hereditary  succession  of  great  families,  who 
thus  constituted  a  species  of  professional  nobility.  The  decrees  of  these  bodies 
were  often  baffled  or  reversed  by  the  royal  authority,  exercised  in  the  well- 
known  form  of  lettres  de  cachet.  These  alterations  of  the  decisions  of  the 
courts,  however,  were  performed,  not  as  a  judicial  revision,  but  by  the  simple 
authority  of  the  king  ;  and  thus  the  parliaments,  being  subject  to  no  judicial 
control  or  responsibility,  adhered  but  slightly  to  fixed  rules  of  law,  and  often 
acted  according  to  their  own  will  and  discretion.  The  jury,  even  so  much  of 
it  as  may  have  existed  under  the  old  feudal  form,  had  entirely  disappeared, 
and  proceedings  were  conducted  in  secret.  Criminal  investigations,  instead  of 
terminating  in  a  conclusive  trial,  as  in  England,  were  protracted  through  a 
lingering  successionof  written  pleadings  and  secret  investigations,  from  which 
the  accused  could  never  calculate  on  being  free.  The  torture  was  extensively 
employed,  but  in  the  general  case  only  when  there  was  as  much  circumstantial 
evidence  as  would  justify  a  conviction  in  this  country. 

"  The  whole  of  this  system  was  swept  suddenly  away  before  the  tide  of  the 
Revolution." 

PRESENT  STATE  OF  THE  LAW. 

"To  an  unlearned  person  in  this  country,  it  is  a  much  easier  thing  to  know 
the  law  of  France  on  any  particular  point,  than  the  law  he  is  living  under.  If 
an  English  lawyer  is  asked  a  question,  his  answer  involves  references  to  com- 
mentaries, decisions,  and  statutes  innumerable  ;  but  in  the  general  case,  the 
answer  of  a  French  lawyer  bears  simple  reference  to  such  a  paragraph  of  such 
a  code."— Chambers'  Information  for  the  People,  No.  44,  New  Series. 

France,  by  her  Revolution,  achieved  two  of  the  greatest  reforma- 
tions that  could  possibly  have  been  devised  for  the  welfare  of  the 
country — two  vast  and  permanent  social  changes,  which  continue 
to  diffuse  benefits  of  the  best  and  most  important  character.  The 
first  was  the  revision  and  codification  of  her  laws  ;  the  second, 
the  emancipation  and  re-distribution  of  her  soil.  The  change  in 
the  laws  was  a  change  from  darkness  to  light,  from  death  to  life, 
from  corruption  and  impurity  to  comparative  spotlessness  and 
impartiality.  In  this  change  the  France  that  survived  the  Revolu- 
tion reaped  a  rich  inheritance  of  good — an  inheritance  which  no 
mere  change  of  dynasty  could  permanently  deprive  her  of  ;  and 
it  would  have  been  well  for  England  if  she  also  had  framed  a 
homogeneous  system  of  codified  laws,  with  provisions  at  once 
equitable  and  intelligible.  It  is  of  course  true,  that  no  mere  code 
of  laws  can  entail  the  good  that  depends  on  the  moral  and  intel- 
lectual improvement  of  the  population ;  but  it  is  also  true,  that 


412  NOTES. 

many  disadvantages  necessarily  arise  where  the  civil  arrange- 
ments of  a  community  are  regulated  by  an  indefinite  multitude  of 
statutes,  and  an  antiquated  system  of  administration.  In  Eng- 
land, the  improvement  of  the  laws  has  been  sacrificed  to  the  in- 
terests of  the  lawyers. 


THE  END. 


UCSB  LIBRARI 


A     000650952     5 


